


No Saints Left Here

by evelitan



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: 4 horsemen of the Apocalyps, Angst with a Happy Ending, Background Malec, Chaper 3 Yin Fen mentions, Chapter 3 has some strong language, Chapter 3 mentions drug use, Chpater 3 tags ahead, Daniel Longhorn (OC), Ehuang (OC), F/F, First Kiss, Happy Ending, Hello Valentine, Jonathan dies, Jonathan loves his sister, Luke Dies, Madzie - Freeform, Margarita (OC), Maryse dies, Max Lightwood Lives, Meliorn lives, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pythia (OC), Rafael Dies, Skjierje (OC), Spoilers for Chapter 6, Temporary Character Death, a hint of Izzy/Simon, and graphic depictions of a battle, chapter 4 - first time, chapter 6 deaths, chapter 6 has graphic depictions of blood, chapter two kiss, end of the world battle, goodish parent Maryse, loving brother Jonathan, mentions of cheating (nothing crazier than a kiss), minor Rafael/Meliorn (don't ask how that happened, minor but significant Jocelyn/Maryse, minor clary/jace, more Malec than Clary/Jace, shota demons (OC), sister Afia (OC)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:09:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 57,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24223324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evelitan/pseuds/evelitan
Summary: CANON DIVERGENT AUWhat would happen if Clary found out the extent of her feelings after her parabatai ceremony with Izzy? What would happen if Valentine was merely wounded in the last battle instead and had retrieved to gather strength and allies? And what would happen if you combine two idiots in love with the potential end of the world and what seems to be a family curse? Well… this happens…
Relationships: Alec Lightwood & Isabelle Lightwood, Alec Lightwood & Jace Wayland, Clary Fray/Isabelle Lightwood, Magnus Bane & Jace Wayland, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 22
Kudos: 57





	1. Until death do us part

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! So I’ve been working on this story for an embarrassingly long time now but things just kept coming to my mind so here’s the result. Nobody requested it but it kept bugging me until I wrote it down. This is going to be a multichapter fic and I’ll update it every Saturday night. The story itself mixes up things from the various seasons and it’s been years since I last saw the TV show so it’s not going to follow canon. I’ve used the characters' dates of birth from the books, not the TV show. A quick reminder: I don’t own any of these characters, except the original ones that I added and will tag, also please keep it mind that it’s just a story, I have nothing against any of the actors but like any person, I do have certain favorite characters. As always, all your comments and kudos are greatly appreciated and looked forward to! Enjoy!
> 
> This is the shortest chapter of them all and I will update the tags on the move because I don’t want to give you any spoilers. I will, however, give you a teeny tiny clue, this is the last chapter of Clary/Jace relationship. I am keeping the rating M for the majority of the story but I'll warn in advance for the E rated moments.

****

**_*Isabelle’s voice sounds low… raspy; she can barely hold back her tears_ ** _*_

_Ah, but we were warned… they warned us but we didn’t listen, now I know why the price is too high indeed…_

_… and yet I’d do it all over again, I’d fight all over again for her… for us…_

***Ten months ago***

The Institute was a rather lonely place in summer, especially in the months of July and August, the majority of the Shadowhunters were either back in Idris and a few small teams were patrolling the streets undercover. Lately, there had been no attacks from Valentine, the Downworlders had settled their disputes as well or at least kept them to themselves and if it wasn’t for the bad feeling in Clary’s bones, she’d have been even inclined to take Izzy on her offer of showing her around Idris. But something was wrong and she had to keep her mind clear from distractions and almost all the thoughts that included Izzy were distracting.

And speaking of Izzy… it had been two weeks since Alec and Magnus’ wedding, it was one of the most beautiful ceremonies Clary had ever seen and everyone she loved was there with her. Jace held her hand gently, Simon joked with her as they used to before all this, even Alec hugged her but Clary’s stomach was still doing backflips because Isabelle had agreed to become her _parabatai_ just the day prior. This felt right, the redhead was sure that was the best decision she had made in her life. Izzy was loyal to a T, she was the best fighter from all of them (including Jace) and she was also the only person who could see right through Clary’s bullshit and call her on it when the occasion required it.

Just like after her mother’s death, still every time Clary thought of it her eyesight became blurry and her throat closed up. After killing the demon that was responsible for Jocelyn’s demise Clary had closed off and all of Jace’s attempts to cheer her up were unsuccessful until one day Izzy had enough of her friend avoiding everyone and grabbed her by the hand. She basically dragged the redhead to the training room. Clary’s body ached from staying still for many days but Isabelle quickly showed her how serious she was in not holding back.

_***flashback*** _

_“Get up, Clary.” – Izzy said and offered her a helping hand. It was the third time she had landed on her butt in just five minutes and what was worse was that it was always from the same move._

_“I can’t Izzy. I can’t…” – Clary said defeated, she just sat there and wasn’t even interested in picking up her weapon from the ground. Izzy always insisted on training Clary with staffs since she was already pretty good with a sword._

_“Clary, look at me.” – She said gently, urging the redhead to look at her eyes._

_“I know how much you are hurting right now, but you need to let someone in and Jace has done everything short of bringing you a unicorn. And that’s only because he’s not aware that the Seelie queen has one of those.” – Izzy said and sat down right next to now chuckling Clary._

_“You don’t have to talk to me now if you don’t want to, but please think about talking to Simon at least. You guys have been best friends forever and I’ve seen him looking at you like a kicked puppy ever since that day.” – Isabelle spoke again, putting her hand on Clary’s shoulder and that broke the walls Clary had tried so hard to keep up._

_Isabelle’s hand was warm from all the force that she used to hold her weapon and she was sitting to close to her that they were practically on top of each other._

_“I miss her so much, Iz.” – Clary said as she lunged for Isabelle’s neck as if she was drowning and the girl in front of her was the only hope she had of surviving, and in a way she was._

_“Don’t stop talking Clary, let it all out.” – Izzy whispered softly in her ear as she gently brushed her hair with one of her hands and rubbed slow circles on the girl’s back with the other._

_Clary followed Izzy’s mellow instructions and cried for what seemed like hours, the two girls stayed hugged like that until Clary had fallen asleep in the crook of Izzy’s neck. A familiar and calming mix of neroli, pomelo, and blood orange scents had enveloped her and black locks of hair shielded her from reality not caring that someone could walk in any moment and see them. Not that there were many enthusiasts to train at midnight on a Tuesday night._

_The next day, Clary woke up with a killer headache but for some reason, she could breathe lighter once more, her chest hurt a little but the pain was fainter, still very prominent and fresh but just a notch duller than yesterday. She had dreamt of Izzy, of trying to train with the other girl but sobbing in her arms instead but that couldn’t be, right? She had woken up in her own bed, she even woke up because the bright early morning sun rays had mercilessly poked through the tall window of her room and disturbed her slumber. Clary had spent a few more hours in bed that day so she didn’t hear Alec asking Izzy why there was a fresh strength rune drawn on the palm of her hand over breakfast, just like neither had heard or seen Magnus as he had seen them hugging on the floor of the gym on his way to get a glass of water from the kitchen. Clary thought that night had been a dream induced from the many previous sleepless and restless nights, Izzy didn’t bring it up ever again because she didn’t want to upset Clary, her heart broke at seeing one of her favorite people that sad and Magnus… well, technically he shouldn’t have even been at the Institute so he kept his mouth shut as well._

**_*end of flashback*_ **

The wedding that followed a month later was easily one of the most romantic and elegant affairs Clary had ever seen, shared with just the closest friends and family, it felt good to celebrate love when you were surrounded by it. Izzy had agreed to go as Simon’s date and Clary was really glad to hear that two of her favorite people were going together but… there was also a pang of something unfamiliar deep inside Clary’s chest, a feeling she couldn’t quite place so she just shook her head and chased it away. Her emotions were still pretty much all over the place since Izzy had agreed to become her _parabatai_ yesterday and she was excited about the wedding, so perhaps it was just that, too many emotions in too little time.

Or perhaps it was just because she wasn’t sleeping very well lately as well, whatever the case was Clary shook her head and didn’t give it much more importance. Walking past Izzy’s room, she heard Simon talking something about comic books again and Isabelle was laughing. It was strange to see Izzy and Simon hanging together without her but surely, they wouldn’t just forget about her even if they went on a date, yeah, they’d just go on a date… with each other but she’s already had _that_ talk with Simon long ago and he knew that she loved him as a brother so why was she feeling this uneasy feeling in her chest? Almost like jealousy for some reason. And it wasn’t until she saw Izzy dancing with Simon and kissing him that it clicked in her mind… She wasn’t jealous of Izzy, she was jealous of Simon because she wanted to be that close to Izzy and holy shit that was not good… this was only supposed to be a momentary infatuation of hers not a falling in love for the wrong sibling scenario.

Jace came from behind her, holding an additional champagne glass in his hand and she eagerly accepted the offer with a smile.

“You read my mind.” – Clary said with a sweet smile and gave him a peck on the cheek he gladly accepted and both took a sip from their glasses, Clary’s perhaps just a little bit larger than her boyfriend’s.

Magnus had excellent taste in alcohol and the quality of the drinks matched perfectly with the refined, elegant style of the wedding. There were barely more than ten people between all their friends and family but this was exactly what everyone needed right now. A moment of happiness with their friends and family before the storm would inevitably hit them. Clary could feel this silence from Valentine was beginning to tire everyone and some Shadowhunters were beginning to drop their guard, they all knew that Valentine was badly injured from the last battle during the Mortal War but Clary kept telling them that the stalling was part of his next attack, that he wasn’t actually dead. The link between Idris and the mundane world was cemented now and with the demon towers deactivated an attack on either would leave the other world vulnerable, unknowingly they had played their cards just like Valentine had expected them to with Jace’s resurrection. Even Jonathan was still alive, it was enough to make Clary shiver and put the small hairs on the back of her neck on alert.

“Come on guys, let’s dance!” – Alec’s unusually cheerful voice brought Clary out of her musings and she could see him waving at her and Jace to join the rest of them on the dance floor where Max was currently putting on his best dance moves on display, teaching Izzy and the rest of the adults how to follow his lead.

Clary caught Izzy’s eyes for a moment and saw her smiling, she was radiant, dressed in her signature red, each curve and dip of her body accentuated with every move of her muscles when she danced. Isabelle was relaxed and for the first time a long while, she was truly enjoying herself not only because her dearest brother had found someone amazing to share his life with but also because she had found her _parabatai_ at last.

They hadn’t told anybody yet, mainly because today and all the days before had been about Alec and Magnus and not her and Clary but also because they had both agreed to keep this to themselves for a little while. It was exciting and for some reason, it felt like keeping a delicate secret from everyone else, but it wasn’t a bad thing so surely the rest wouldn’t blame them.

Izzy waved at Clary as their eyes met and the redhead took Jace’s hand and headed over to the dance floor. She still couldn’t believe that this courageous, intelligent, charming and fierce woman had agreed to become her _parabatai_ , the same woman that could kick demon ass from Monday to Sunday and decapitate monsters without so much as the blink of an eye is the same woman that still cries when they watch the live versions of Dumbo, and hums along with the song of Prince Ali on their usual Friday night sleepovers. People thought that Alec was the intense one but that was only because they hadn’t seen Izzy when they watched a movie that involved forensic data analysis, Izzy would spend the entirety of the movie correcting them and Clary had often liked listening to the other girl talk more than the movie characters on the TV in front of them. 

_“Snap out of it Clary, God she is dating your best friend and you have a boyfriend. Just… stop thinking about Izzy.” –_ Clary’s consciousness was shouting at her. In the midst of all the dancing, she could feel Jace tugging her to the side and gladly complied, thinking the champagne had gotten to her mind earlier.

“Clary?” – Jace asked as he took her hands in his.

“Sorry. I was just… thinking.” – Clary said with a soft smile, she had clearly missed whatever he had told her before. _Focus, Fray_!

“I was just saying that it’s nice to see Alec happy this time, he wasn’t exactly thrilled the first time he walked down the aisle. But hey, are you okay? You’ve been kind of distracted lately.” – He said again.

“Yeah, no… I mean sure, I am okay promise. Just admiring Max’s moves.” – She said and they both chuckled as they say him now hopping around on one foot. The gel has made his hair stick so close together that not even jumping around could dishevel him.

“Alright. I was thinking we could go out to dinner tomorrow? Or we could go do something mundane like see a movie at the cinema if you want as well?” – Jace asked, his usual charming self was looking at her with a warm smile and she liked that idea. Leaning closer to Jace, Clary kissed him on the lips and smiled as she said she’d love to.

It wasn’t that Isabelle was looking at Clary and Jace on purpose, it wasn’t as if she didn’t know they were dating either so when she saw them kissing and smiling at each other she shouldn’t have been that surprised. They were so good together and they had both explored that from day one, especially after all the confusion around their possible sibling link finally got cleared up. Izzy was happy for her brother, Jace was finally maturing and Clary had always felt like someone very dear to her and had it not been for her older brother’s keen observation skills, Izzy wouldn’t have given it much importance as to why she was suddenly looking sad.

“Hey, Iz. What’s going on?” – Alec asked as he took his sister’s hand and they both stepped aside from the dance floor, leaving Magnus to jump around with Max and Madzie. 

“What? Nothing. Why?” – She responded way too quickly for Alec to believe and his eyebrow arched up even further.

“Did you forget that Clary is not the only one that can tell when you’re lying?” – Alec asked once more.

“It’s nothing, Alec.” – Izzy insisted, mirroring Alec’s stubborn glare.

“Lately, you’ve been acting weird each time Clary and Jace are around you. Relax, Iz, she proved that she’s not working with Valentine and Jonathan. I mean, even I trust her now.” – Alec, poor naïve Alec said trying to comfort his sister but now Isabelle looked ashamed and crossed her hands in front of her, suddenly finding Alec’s shoes mesmerizing.

“Mhm…” – She hummed still not looking up.

“Holy shit Izzy!” – Alec hissed in low voice, his mental light bulb had suddenly turned on.

“I know that look, you had the same when mom found out about you and Meliorn!” – Alec continued talking in a hushed voice.

“Shut up, Alec. You’re wrong!” – Isabelle finally found her voice but it was barely more than a sharp whisper.

“Look, can we just drop this. Today is your day, so please let’s just get back to the dancing.”- Izzy said and Alec knew his sister well enough by now to understand her pleading.

“Fine.” – He agreed unconvinced with a slow shake of his head.

“You still owe me a dance though.” – Alec said with a gentle smile.

“Try to keep up, _hermano_.” – Izzy said back and grabbed him by the hand back to the rest of the group, her carefree façade slipping back in place with each step she took, dancing and twirling hand in hand with a laughing Alec.

_TBC._


	2. Choices, choices

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! This is where the real story begins, let's see how things are going to go for Clary and Izzy... (the tags have been updated as well)

This was all supposed to be a normal Friday night for them, have a couple of drinks at Magnus' and Alec's place, play some games and just have the chance to talk about something else than demons for once. The night was supposed to be dedicated to silly conversations that they had spend years denying themselves that small pause from their lives… that was until Clary suddenly blurted out:

“I asked Izzy to be my Patabatai.”

And Alec almost got whiplash from the speed with which he turned his head to stare at her. Everyone in the room suddenly stopped talking and the sounds of a crashing Mario karts came from the huge TV in the living room.

Honestly, you’d think she had just announced that she’d asked the other girl to marry her judging by the eyes of the group that had landed on her, well all apart from Izzy’s, she only chuckled shaking her head because of course, Clary would decide to just mention one of the most important decisions of their lives while everyone was playing Super Mario kart.

“Congratulations guys!” – Jace was the first one to snap out of it and said cheerfully and the rest followed as the shock of the announcement subsided.

“That’s great news!” – Simon joined in as well and both girls relaxed visibly until Izzy’s eyes landed on Alec that seemed to struggle to maintain the smile on his face.

“I say we celebrate that with some more cocktails!” – Magnus chimed in, sending Alec a look that said “ _She’s your sister, I’m not meddling there_ ”.

“I seem to remember you were _Miss – I – don’t – need – a – parabatai_ , I’m glad you changed your mind Iz.” – Alec said with a gentler voice at the end, at first, he was considering saying something else but ultimately decided on this.

“I remember when I asked Alec, it was the best decision I had ever made!” – Jace said and both men blushed at the memories, they were so young back then and had no idea what really awaited them.

“You learned the oath ten minutes before the ceremony!” – Alec laughed from the couch and a weight was lifted from his sister’s chest, for a second there she thought Alec would be against it after the wedding mishap but from the looks of it, it was just the opposite.

The entire group laughed at the story that Alec began telling, somehow it felt as if it was all a lifetime ago but both Alec and Jace seemed to remember it as if it was yesterday. Clary drank the last of the cocktail in her glass and made her way to the kitchen, she really needed to tell Magnus to ease on the alcohol in her drinks.

“I don’t think I had ever seen Jace as nervous as he was that day. He barely managed to draw the _parabatai_ rune without messing it up!” – Izzy joined.

“Hey, no ganging up on me!” – Jace said feigning annoyance and threw a pillow at Izzy.

“Seriously though, you’ve made a good choice Iz, a _parabatai_ bond is not easy to find but it’s totally worth it.” – Jace said before he began speaking of the time Alec and he went on their first mission as _parabatai_.

“Hey, biscuit, come to help me with the drinks?” – Magnus asked with a warm smile, Clary grew to love that nickname, it reminded her of the time she first saw him as a kid. Slowly some of the repressed memories have started coming back to her.

“Yeah, sure but this time go easy on mine, or I might end up crashing on your couch.” – Clary said with a smile and watched Magnus work his way through the various colorful bottles in front of him.

“No worries, I’m feeling generous today and I’ll even show you the guest bedroom.” – He said and both laughed.

“So, _parabatai_ huh? That’s a big decision.” – Magnus inquired gently.

“Yeah, I guess but… there’s just something about Izzy that made me ask that. I mean, I have never seen a braver person than her, especially after her completely reckless decisions sometimes. And of course, we all know how good of a fighter she is, and she’s smart…” – Clary began talking and while Magnus had to agree on all these accounts, especially after she saved him in Edom, he still needed to ask the question in his mind.

“Yes, she is quite… amazing but are you sure you want to be her _parabatai_ biscuit? I mean _parabatai_ are great and all but not if you are genuinely in love with that person.” – Magnus got straight to the point as he finished mixing the last cocktail and setting on the tray.

“In what…? No, no I… it’s not like that. Why would you even think that, didn’t you see that she’s with Simon now? I mean they were together even at the wedding.” – Clary said quickly.

“I think you’re making a mistake, biscuit, but the decision is ultimately yours, just… talk to her first perhaps.” – Magnus said and took the tray with the drinks back to the group, leaving Clary behind to wonder about his words. _Could it be that Izzy does in fact feel something for me?_ Clary thought and tilted her head towards the living room where Alec and Jace were still bickering over the game and Izzy sat in Simon’s lap, kissing him. _You are an idiot Clary Fray, of course, she doesn’t like you like that._

Another week passed quickly between their usual trainings and the preparations for the _parabatai_ ceremony when a letter from Maryse Lightwood arrived. Maryse was not an easy woman to please, Izzy had given up on that since she was a child, however reading that your mother found your choice of _parabatai_ acceptable was akin to winning the lottery and even though she’d be on time for the ceremony, Izzy doubted she’d stay for much longer after that. It wasn’t as if her opinion on the matter would’ve stopped her from becoming Clary’s _parabatai_ but tradition dictated that she had to let her mother know of the ceremony.

The day finally came and unlike the small crowd that had gathered for the wedding a week ago, this time it was only Alec, Jace, and Magnus that stood on the sides of the room. The only other time they had used that same room was for Max’s rune ceremony and years prior to that for Jace and Alec’s ceremony. The boys were all dressed in their best suits and saw Clary and Isabelle, each entering through a different door, walking nervously to the center of the room, both dressed in their training gear and wearing only a sports bra so they can draw the rune better on each other.

**_*15 minutes earlier*_ **

"Alec... I'm… I’m not sure this is a good idea." - Izzy confided in Alec, her head rested on his shoulder.

"Relax Izzy, you'll be fine. I was nervous too at first and to be honest I wasn't really prepared for the bond of the parabatai rune but you'll see, as time passes, you'll start wondering how you made it so long without them." - Alec spoke, remembering his own parabatai ceremony with Jace.

"No, I... I mean I may have the same problem you did all those years ago and I just don't think I'm capable of putting it all aside and becoming Clary's parabatai." - Izzy explained tentatively and to her surprise Alec only arched up one of his perfect eyebrows, remembering their very similar conversation from a few years ago.

"So, you've finally admitted it huh? I was wondering when you'll see it, although it was pretty obvious at the wedding." - Alec said and even laughed a little bit.

"Damn, now I owe Magnus a 20." – He added, still laughing softly.

"You knew? About my feelings for Clary?!" - Izzy asked petrified, did that mean that she has been that obvious?

"You forget dear sister, I was in your same shoes once." - He said with an understanding smile and a gentle nudge to Izzy's shoulder.

"And I had the fortune of having an amazing little sister who helped me out and gave me one of the best advice, so I'm just going to copy her. One day, you'll meet someone who loves you as though you personally bring the sunrise each morning but do you really want to miss the opportunity of having Clary as your _parabatai_ for a fantasy that may never happen?" - Alec spoke softly and felt hot tears falling on his sleeve.

"I can't imagine my life without her, Alec. And by the Angel, I know she's with Jace and I have no chance in hell with her but... I love her. I tried telling myself otherwise, I even told her I loved her as a sister once but... the truth is that I've never felt this way about anyone before." - Izzy spoke and slow tears marred her rosy cheeks.

Alec turned to hug her and held her close to him, just like when they were little kids and Izzy would run to his room whenever there was a big storm. She felt safest in her brother's arms and the silence enveloped them like a blanket. Alec wasn't sure what to say, he'd never seen Izzy like that, not even when she was ordered to stop seeing the Seelie...

"It's going to be okay Izzy, whatever you decide... it's going to be okay just keep in mind that not everyone is lucky enough to have a _parabatai_." -Alec whispered into Izzy's black hair and continued holding her until her tears stopped and she pushed him away gently, ushering him to join Magnus and Jace in the ceremony room.

Alec is right, this will pass and it’s not like she loves me back either way… Come on Izzy, don’t screw this up. – She thought in her mind and walked over the table to get her stele. It was time for the ceremony to begin.

**_*Back to the present moment*_ **

Clary had been wrangling her fingers anxiously before the ceremony, contemplating each possible scenario that could ruin that moment, everything from a Valentine attacking the Institute to Isabelle changing her mind in the last moment and somehow the prospect of the latter happening terrified her much more than the first one. So, when the doors opened and she saw Izzy walking in from the opposite end of the room, Clary felt herself taking a deep breath and calm spread through her as Izzy smiled at her. If there was one word that would describe Izzy always, it was confidence, she walked in that room with swift motions and easy steps, her head held high as if she was being rewarded with the highest prize in the Shadow world.

_Entreat me not to leave thee,_

_Or return from following after thee—_ Izzy’s resolute voice sounded in the quiet room, her hand holding Clary’s by the elbow and vice versa, she could feel the warmth spreading inside her again.

_For whither thou goest, I will go,_

_And where thou lodgest, I will lodge._ – This time Clary continued, looking a little flushed as she finished the sentence.

_Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God._

_Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried._ – Izzy added with a small smile she couldn’t stifle. She never meant more words she had ever pronounced in her life until now.

_The Angel do so to me, and more also,_

_If aught but death part thee and me._ – Clary finished, her eyes not leaving Izzy’s even for a second, completely zoning out the people around them.

Isabelle didn’t even paid attention to what the Iron sister present to the ceremony was telling her, she took her stele and drew very carefully the _parabatai_ rune on the left side of Clary’s ribcage, just under her sports bra noticing the rune shimmering for a moment until it settled on the other girl’s skin.

Once she was done, Clary did the same and this time Izzy felt the distinctive burn of the rune being a little sharper than usual but then again it was one of the most powerful runes a Shadowhunter could get so it shouldn’t be such a surprise that it stings a little more than usual right?

Izzy and Clary were too preoccupied with smiling at each other and Alec, Magnus, and Jace soon joined them cheering and hugging them, nobody paying attention to Maryse’s worried expression. She left just as briskly as she had come, only muttering a quick congratulations and goodbye to Izzy and Clary as she exited the room.

“Come on, Izzy, let’s go get some ice cream.” – Clary said as she saw Izzy’s pained expression, she still hoped Maryse would stay with them at least for a couple of hours but she made the same old excuse about being needed on some urgent matters. There were always more urgent matters than spending time with her daughter it seemed.

“I’m dying for a Mango and Coco swirl.” – Izzy quickly said with a smile on her face, it almost fooled Clary into thinking that Izzy didn’t care about Maryse’s haste exit.

It had been four days since their _parabatai_ ceremony and their runes still felt hotter to the touch, nothing that bothered them but Izzy was definitely going to ask Alec about that one, right after they finish their patrolling for the day.

Dusk, when the sky turns violet but the last rays of sunshine rasp the sky, that is one of the most magical hours of the day. Clary and Izzy were walking on the streets of New York, always full of people but somehow mostly empty at this hour. The majority of people had just gotten home from work and in many windows, one could see the families gathering together around the table or parents sitting down next to their kids and holding their hands while showing them how to write the letters of the alphabet. Dusk was when the city halted its rhythm for a few seconds before the restaurants got filled and the cinemas got swarmed with people, much before the nightclubs opened... there was a moment of stillness even in New York.

"You know, I've always wondered..." - Clary began saying as she walked side by side with Izzy. Her hand was itching to thread her fingers with the other girl but she quickly scolded herself for fantasizing while they were on patrol.

"What?" - Izzy asked as she turned to look at Clary, holding herself back from gently tucking the rebellious strands of Clary's fiery hair behind her ear.

"How come I've never heard Alec speak Spanish? I mean, you certainly use it more than him?" - Clary asked.

"Well, that may be because I spent more time with our grandmother. Alec is 5 years older than me and so he began his training earlier than me and mom and dad always traveled around so for a while... I got to spend a lot of time with my mother's mom." - Izzy explained but her voice faltered slightly.

"You don't have to tell me about it if it upsets you Iz." - Clary hurried to say.

"It's okay. Honestly, it's just been a rather long while since the last time I thought of her. She was a sweet old lady who had an endless supply of caramel candies in her pockets." - Izzy said and chuckled.

"She lived in Alicante and was originally from Spain. Every night she used to read me stories and sing to me in Spanish. My mother always preferred the French, thinking it was more refined and significant for the family status. I lived with my grandmother for a couple of years and Alec would visit every summer and when I got to the Institute to begin my training, Spanish was like our "secret" language but Jace doesn't understand it so when he came around Alec stopped talking in Spanish and now he's too embarrassed by his accent." - Izzy explained and this time Clary chuckled. She had always found the bond between Alec and Jace to be fascinating even from the beginning when there were no warm feelings between her and Alec, she had to admit, Alec and Jace made a wonderful team.

"Well, I like it. You should teach me something when we are not busy patrolling the streets or training." - Clary said with a warm smile.

"Deal!" - Izzy eagerly accepted.

The pair continued walking in comfortable silence a while longer, enjoying the tranquility around them and unfortunately, completely ignoring the two guys that were following them. They had directed their patrolling to one of the industrial parts of the city, now completely desolate, and it wasn’t until they heard heavy footsteps approaching them belonging to a group of guys dressed in the same black leather jackets and completely bald appear in front of them as well. Their faces riddled with blue tattoos and their eyes completely black, why were demons so hellbent on looking like a Halloween movie prop?

“Remember boys, he wants the redhead alive.” – Said one of the demons while the others slowly surrounded them.

Izzy and Clary were quick to put their backs to each other, it wasn’t that big of a deal for Izzy to fight multiple opponents, she’d done it plenty of times with Alec and Clary was just as good of a fighter, therefore, she wasn’t really worried about them.

While the demons took careful steps around them and sneered in their directions, revealing multiple pairs of sleazy tentacles shooting out of their mouths and acid saliva spewing from the corners of their mouths as well. It wasn’t a pretty view but low-level demons rarely were.

Three of the demons attacked at once while the rest limited themselves to keeping Clary and Izzy into the small circle they had created. The snake around Izzy’s wrist uncoiled and hissed as the electrum whip glided effortlessly through the air, leaving a cracking sound each time it collided with one of its targets. Clary was much more comfortable using her seraph blade and slashed two of the guys before a couple more emerged from the shadows behind them.

“Clary, we might need some back up here.” – Izzy said as the hit the demon that was wrapped around the lower end of her whip with her fist, completely knocking him out.

“I’ll try calling Jace, the comms are down.” – Clary said and cursed the damned comms for only picking up white noise and for some damned reason not transmitting their distress to the boys that were patrolling near them.

Izzy did her best to keep the demons busy with her but there were simply too many of them and as soon as Clary got her phone out of her pocket a demon spat on it and it disintegrated in her hand. Having cell phones on them was a recent thing and Alec absolutely refused to have one but, in some cases, it proved quite useful. This time was not one of the best examples for it though.

“Shit!” – Clary said as she felt a small spot on her hand burning like hell and saw that her skin was bubbling angrily where the demon’s spit had landed.

There were six demons in total surrounding them now and Izzy managed to kill two of them before a third one stepped closer to her and blew some sort of white powder in her face, making her start coughing and drop the electrum whip from her hand.

Clary was not the best fighting with her left hand but she managed to cut the tentacles of the demon that had melted her phone and consequently she also succeeded in removing his head before she heard Izzy coughing violently and turned to look at her.

The two remaining demons had cornered Izzy next to a dumpster and she was trying to regain her breathing as one of them managed to land a hard kick to her abdomen. 

“ _Clary, behind you_!” – Izzy’s voice sounded loud and crystal clear in Clary’s mind but she could see Izzy barely able to stand up on her feet and block the flurry of tentacles, fists, and kicks directed at her.

Turning the seraph blade in her hand backward, Clary saw the guy behind her just as he blew the same white powder in her face but it only made her vision somewhat blurry, far from having the same effect it had on Izzy. Clary only shook her head and watched the demon’s face as the horror of his sealed fate downed on him, he only had time to gape at the way Clary seemed almost immune to the powder before her blade split him in half.

From the corner of her eyes, the redhead saw Izzy being held on her knees by one of the two remaining demons while the other was just seconds away from breaking her neck.

“ _Izzy, stay down!_ ” – Clary thought and saw Izzy looking at her with the same puzzled expression she herself had when she heard Izzy’s voice inside her mind.

Taking the stele from her inside pocket, Clary quickly drew a rune she had no memory of learning and felt a sudden surge of power inside her, her vision sharpened and the blurriness disappeared completely as she gripped the handle on her seraph blade as hard as she could. With knuckles turning white and anger burning inside her Clary thrust her blade into the back of the demon that was facing Izzy and a blast of light obliterated the demon that was holding Izzy’s hands behind her back.

The white, hot, light passed right above Izzy’s head and the demons barely had the chance to let out a gurgling shout before disappearing, their bodies reduced to nothing but ashes that were quickly scattered by the wind. Clary rushed to stand in front of Izzy and inspected her quickly for injuries she might have missed before, thankfully there were none aside from a bunch of cuts and bruises, Izzy was fine. She seemed fine at least, until Clary noticed how low her energy seemed.

“How…?” – Izzy asked and Clary wasn’t sure to what she was referring to, the way they had communicated telepathically or the blast of light that Clary had managed to get out of her seraph blade. Not that she could answer either of those, she felt incredibly tired and the only trace of the rune that she had drawn on the hand that held the sword was an angry burned mark that could easily be mistaken for a wound caused by the acid in the demon spit.

“I have no idea, but we should keep this between us before we figure out what’s happening.” – Clary said and felt the exhaustion settling inside her bones, the only conscious thought was the coms in her ear finally transmitting Jace’s panicked voice.

“Industrial district… warehouse 3.” – Was the only thing she managed to say between heavy breaths and before she lost consciousness and slumped over already knocked out Izzy, hearing in the distance the eerie cry of a horse but her eyes couldn’t see anything.

The next thing Izzy remembers is Magnus chanting in a language she hasn’t even heard before and a bunch of worried faces stare at her but only the one of Clary somehow stays etched in her memory and then everything turns black again. The next time Izzy opens her eyes the utter exhaustion is gone and she can honestly say that she hasn’t had such a nice sleep in years, until… until the memories of the battle surge up in her head and she shakily makes her way to Clary’s room.

“Izzy, I was just looking for you!” – Simon says, walking to her from the kitchens, holding a bouquet of flowers in his hands.

“How are you feeling and why are you out of bed?” – He started fretting over her and even though he was sweet and _very_ caring, Izzy didn’t want to speak with him right now but before she could say something, he gave her a quick peck on the lips and took her hand directing her back to her room.

“Simon, wait…” – Izzy started. She had been thinking about this ever since Alec’s wedding, this thing between her and Simon… it wasn’t what she had expected. She really enjoyed his company at first, perhaps because it wasn’t _permitted_ to date him and there was a certain thrill about it all. Now though, thinking about having a boyfriend had started feeling like she was breathing with half of her lungs and lately she had been looking more towards their moment apart than together. She had tried to talk to him before Clary announced that they are going to be _parabatai_ but they were playing Mario kart between friends and it certainly wasn’t the best moment. Perhaps there was no best moment about these things, so perhaps the close second would be right now.

“Simon, look.” – She said once they entered her room and moved aside when he tried to kiss her again.

“I’ve been thinking about us and I don’t think this is going anywhere.” – She said directly, maybe it was best to view it as a band-aid, the quicker you took it off – the better. Although judging by the way he dropped the bouquet on the floor perhaps a different approach might have gotten a better reaction. 

“What? Izzy are you breaking up with me?” – He asked incredulously.

“I… I just don’t think this is working out anymore. I’m sorry Simon.” – Izzy said again and this time she moved towards the door once more, she really didn’t have the time or patience to deal with his meltdown.

“Did you hit your head the other night?” – He asked as he saw her opening the door of her room again.

“A girl breaks up with you and your first thought is she must have hit her head?” – This time Izzy asked incredulously.

“No, Simon, I didn’t hit my head. I need to go now.” – She said as she made her way to the training room where Alec was training, leaving a stunned Simon behind her. He’ll get over it but damn it felt good to speak her mind.

“Hey big brother!” – Izzy said cheerfully as she saw Alec hitting the training dummy for the third time in a row. She liked watching her brother train, that way she could predict better his moves when they trained and fought together.

“Izzy!” – Alec’s relieved smile filled the room with warmth and he rushed to hug her.

“How are you feeling?” – He asked concerned.

“I’m okay. Strangely enough I actually don’t remember sleeping that well for a long time.” – She said and smiled back.

“Or for that long either. Izzy you have been asleep for 36 hours. I was starting to get worried but Magnus checked on you every couple of hours and told me how you were doing.” – He said and Izzy looked at him gaping, she never slept more than six-seven hours tops.

“Iz what happened in that alley?” – Alec asked with an arched eyebrow, equally parts confused and scared of the answer.

“I am not sure, Alec. I had never seen anything like it. The demons, they blew some white powder in my face and I think they somehow neutralized the effects of my angelic rune because I couldn’t even keep a hold of my whip anymore and Clary… oh God, I completely forgot, how is Clary? Where is she?” – Izzy asked quickly.

“Relax, she was training with Jace earlier, she didn’t sleep nearly as much as you and told us the exact same thing. Magnus managed to gather some residue of that white dust from your clothes and he’s working on finding its origins.” – He added.

“Perhaps I can help? I’m feeling much better now, I promise.” – Izzy said but before Alec could answer Clary came up behind them.

“Izzy!” – She said with the biggest smile she could give and hugged her _parabatai._

“You may be feeling better but you are not getting anywhere near that stuff until we determine what it is.” – Jace said from behind her and gave her a quick hug as well.

“Don’t scare us like that again, Iz.” – He said with a smile.

“He’s right.” – Alec agreed.

“Fine then, but we are going to celebrate your birthday tonight.” – Isabelle said cheerfully and saw Jace laughing behind Alec.

“Ha! Told you! You owe me your knife.” – Jace said to Alec.

“Izzy, you just woke up from being attacked how are you even thinking about going out to celebrate?” – Alec asked.

“I’m feeling great but if it makes you feel better, we can both go to the infirmary and ask Magnus to confirm it. You’re not getting out of celebrating your birthday, _hermano_.” – She said and Clary laughed at how Izzy that was half the size of Alec could make him do whatever she said.

“Fine.” – He said as he rolled his eyes but an eager smile appeared on his face.

They had been in each other's space all day ever since Izzy woke up. Clary and her had spent the rest of the day relaxing and getting ready for tonight, honestly, they were the definition of "joined at the hip". After the last couple of days they all had, the young Shadowhunters deserved a good night out and especially Clary and Izzy that had almost lost each other because of a rookie mistake of not noticing the man trailing them before it was too late. Lately, they were spending their time either training, patrolling, or just hanging out in general but always the two of them and that had caused many exasperated sights from both Simon and Jace. There was something inside Clary and Izzy that tingled each time they saw each other; it was an unfamiliar warm feeling that spread inside their bodies and made their _parabatai_ marks warmer to the touch, warmer than the rest of the runes spread on their bodies.

Returning to the current moment however, Clary and Izzy have been dancing on the dance floor for a while now but the boys had quickly decided to admire them from afar when both girls showed a distinct lack of interest in dancing with them.

"Damn, Izzy has moves!" - Simon murmured, his eyes still glued on the moving form of Isabelle. Isabelle hadn’t told anybody about her and Simon splitting up so when Clary said she’d texted him to meet them at Pandemonium she simply nodded and changed the subject. Simon was still hoping they could talk and get back together but each time he had tried to talk to her, she shut him out.

"Too bad she's not showing them to you." - Jace retorted back with a smirk.

"It's not as if you're dancing with Clary either!" - Simon pointed out and Jace smug face faltered a little.

"Come on guys, let them have some fun. They almost lost each other the other day." - Alec came behind them and gestured to Magnus to get them all a couple of drinks.

Thank all the Gods for Magnus, that man was more perceptive than all of humanity together and was already making his way toward them with a tray of drinks.

"You're right, I remember when I almost lost you the first time after our _parabatai_ ceremony." - Jace said and looked at Alec in a fond way. He truly loved him more than words could express. It was a rare treat having Jace so soft in public, although he always made an exception for Alec and if Magnus had been anyone else, he'd be jealous of the connection they had but the wizard knew he had nothing to worry about, Alec's heart was undoubtedly all his and vice versa.

Stepping closer to the group, Magnus made sure to carry the tray in both his hands especially because of all the moving bodies around him. Jace and Simon rushed to get their drinks from the warlock and now only Alec could see his sister and the redhead dancing amidst the sea of moving people. Clary had comfortably rested her hands on Izzy's hips and Alec just knew that this wasn't going to end well.

"Oh boy..." - Alec murmured under his nose and only Magnus caught the unbelieving look on his face, getting worried himself until he saw where Alec's gaze was directed at, and then the wizard only smirked.

"Cheers!" - Magnus hurriedly turned the attention of the boys to the space between them where his glass was lifted.

"For my wonderful husband getting a year older and wiser!" - He said loudly and while Alec blushed, still amazed at how giddy he got whenever Magnus called him that, and Simon and Jace cheered happily.

The drinks Magnus had brought over were supposedly a mix of Ron and Coca Cola but knowing his marvelous husband, Alec was sure he had probably forgotten about the Coca Cola.

Taking a sip from their glasses they could all appreciate the prominent fig notes that came alive in their mouths with the subtle tropical spice, all wrapped in the smooth richness of the rum. That was until out of nowhere, Alec sputtered his drink all over his shirt and began coughing violently, drawing all the attention to him. Three pairs of worried eyes concentrated on him, Magnus quickly patting him on the back while Jace was telling him to breathe normally which in all honesty was just as effective as when you're nervous about something and someone tells you instantly "Oh don't worry about it".

Freaking out internally, Alec regained his full breathing capacity after an agonizingly long minute or two. He was flushed now, his cheeks rosy but not entirely from the rum. Just as he had started drinking the amber liquid earlier, his eyes landed on his little sister, his adorable little sister that had her hands around Clary's head and the redhead's tongue was dancing in her mouth. There was no way he could've misinterpreted the situation since there aren't many, IF any in fact, scenarios where one would accidentally pull someone close to them while their lips were sealed together in a kiss. **_Fuck_** _… **Fuck!** _Was the last thing Alec thought in his mind before he sputtered his drink all over.

"What happened?" - Jace asked worriedly.

"I... I just didn't expect it to be _that_ strong." - Alec lied but everyone apart from Magnus believed him and began laughing.

Looking back to the dance floor, Izzy and Clary were nowhere to be found and Alec's expression hardened, they had rules against such things damn it.

"I'll just go quickly to the bathroom." - Alec said, scratching the back of his head and Magnus quickly searched the room around them.

"Perhaps it's better if you get some fresh air instead." - He offered, insisting slightly on the last part.

"We can all go together." - Simon offered and Jace was already ready to head out. Alec's panicked eyes begged Magnus for a little help and what kind of a husband would he be to refuse to play the knight in shining armor for his love every now and then, besides Alec always showed him just how grateful he is when they were alone.

"Do all Shadowhunters go in packs? I thought that was more of a werewolf thing?" - He asked teasingly.

"I'll have you know that we are the most powerful of the Nephilim and..." - Leave it to Jace to brag and thankfully that resulted in enough of a distraction for Alec to slip out, walking quickly outside the club.

The autumn nights were starting to get a little chillier, winter was quickly approaching. It was 4 am and the streets were rather empty, only a couple of people from the club smoking outside in little groups and talking animatedly.

Taking out his stele, Alec activated the rune on the side opposite of his left elbow and it shone brightly for a moment. It was a sensor enhancing rune, he had a better chance of finding his sister and Clary when he could see more than just the street bathed in the orange light of the street lights before it was too late. Looking carefully around him, he concentrated on the dark alley near Pandemonium where a couple seemed to be passionately making out, hidden away from curios and wandering eyes, Alec took a few steps closer and saw that it was two girls. Hands exploring each other bodies, wandering up and down, Clary pinning Isabelle to the wall and tracing the skin of her neck with her tongue and kisses and Izzy moaning… both lost in each other and completely oblivious of Alec and the huge frown on his face.

"Izzy!!" – A potent voice yelled from the distance.


	3. Step 3 of How to End the World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Thank you for continuing to read this story. I admit in this chapter I used a "spell" from Merlin (the BBC show because I have no idea of what languages the warlocks chant). We see Maryse in this chapter and her presence would be pretty important from now on, especially for next week's update. The mushroom mentioned is indeed very toxic and very real but it doesn't look like its described here.   
> I hope you like it!
> 
> P.S POSSIBLE TRIGGERS AHEAD There are mentions of Izzy's yin-fen phase in this chapter so it's going to touch the subject of drugs and detox. We also have some verbal abuse from Valentine toward Jonathan so be careful if you're triggered by this.

“Izzy!!” – Alec yelled furiously as he approached them, he basically sprinted up to them and saw a lot more than any brother ever wishes to see of his sister. Izzy was held between the wall and Clary's body while her hand roamed over it, her right stiletto was wrapped around Clary's waist and Clary had her hands on Izzy's ass. Thanks to his enhanced sight he could see a fresh hickey on Izzy's right side of the neck and he frowned Seriously, Fray, are you twelve? Alec thought but he had more important things to think about.

Both girls had jumped back from each other as if a bucket of cold water was thrown over them.

"Izzy, what the hell were you thinking?!" - Alec said again, this time he tried to keep his voice lower, tried being the keyword.

At least both girls had the decency to look guilty but this wouldn't help them.

"What if Simon had seen you? Or worse, Jace? You do know she's his girlfriend, right?!" - Alec asked and those words broke Izzy's stoic expression, the tears cascading down her face after her brother’s words had the time to sink in her mind.

The tears cascading down her eyes were burning her cheeks like fire, she didn’t give a damn about Simon seeing them but Jace was a whole other story.

"Alec, back off! I kissed her first!" - Clary yelled out of nowhere and put herself between the two siblings, roughly pushing Alec back.

It was true after all and seeing Izzy so hurt made Clary forget everything else. It didn't matter that Alec was right, she couldn't watch Izzy cry because she was just as guilty as the younger Lightwood was and felt exactly the thing that raged in Izzy's heart. She could feel the love for her, reflected but clearly distinguishable from hers.

"Don't even start with me, Clary! I'm serious, take a step back!" - Alec said as he took a step towards them, regaining his previous position.

Feeling Izzy's hands pulling her back, Clary didn't put up a fight this time but the anger was still boiling inside her.

"I shouldn't have encouraged you to go through with this. I... I didn't think you loved her that much. I'm sorry Izzy, it's partially my fault but you both have to understand... _parabatai_ can't be together like that." - Alec said this time in a tone much mellower than before. Compassion softened his gaze as he looked at the two girls in front of him.

"Clary... think about Jace... It's not fair to him." - He continued talking and this time Clary lowered her head, he was right. It wasn't fair to any of them.

**_*One hour earlier*_ **

Izzy could feel the music thumping around them, Clary was dancing so close to her that her perfume surrounded her and clouded her mind, pleasantly encouraging the numerous fantasies she had imagined in her mind. At least she could imagine since there was no way she could ever get to act on her feelings.

However, feeling Clary's hands wandering around her waist and pulling her closer was getting too much for Isabelle and when the beat of the music turned slowed down, making the melody extremely sensual Izzy turned to look at Clary. The redhead's cheeks were beginning to color and her breathing quickened when she met Isabelle's disheveled appearance. In that moment Clary had to admit that she had never wanted to kiss anyone more than Isabelle right now. Black locks framing her face, red lipstick begging to me smudged against her lips and those chocolate dark eyes... brimming with equal parts desire and doubt. She hated seeing Izzy doubting herself. Inching slowly closer to her Clary heard Izzy take a sharp breath but didn't back away, if anything she even planted herself firmer on her spot.

The lights and the dancing people around them became a blur and the only thing each of them could think about was how soft the other's girl's lips were. Finally, the corner of Isabelle's lips curled slightly up into a barely noticeable smile and Clary leaned in fully, connecting lazily their lips. Izzy thought she heard someone cough violently and glass shattering on the ground somewhere around them but her mind was busy enjoying Clary's kiss. Izzy teased Clary's bottom lip gently with her teeth and right after soothed them with slow swipes of her tongue over it.

It seemed as if their kiss lasted hours with Izzy pressed firmly against Clary's front and they only pulled apart when Clary couldn't hold back her grin anymore. The way Clary had pulled Izzy to her and kept one of her hands nestled in the small hairs of Izzy's neck or perhaps it was the desire with which their lips met, made Clary's kiss seem more possessive than Izzy had originally expected and that only served to stoke the fire inside her even more. She wanted Clary to never stop kissing her like that.

Clary had made many mistakes in her life, eating an entire jar of Nutella when she was 6, teasing Simon too much about the ninja turtles posters in his room... lying to herself about her feelings for Izzy was by far the biggest one, followed by insisting on making things between Jace and her work again, even though it rivaled not listening to her mother when she implored to talk to her on the day all hell broke loose and she discovered the Shadow world. But perhaps the biggest mistake of them all was thinking she was okay with being just a friend to Izzy.

"Come." - The redhead said and dragged Izzy to the outside of the club before she could catch her breath completely. Just as they stepped on the cold streets, Clary took the stele tucked securely behind her back and refreshed the invisibility runes they had on their necks. Nobody on the streets paid any attention to them but still there was no sense in putting on a show for the strangers.

Once they were safely able to move around without being seen, Clary took Izzy's hand and led her down the dark alley beside the club, good thing New York' maintenance wasn't the best in the world and a small alley without any street lights wasn't usually a place where many people would dwell around.

Walking hand in hand until they were a couple of meters away from Pandemonium, Izzy's brain was still fuzzy with pleasure, she couldn't wait to feel Clary's lips against hers again, but there was a nagging voice inside her head that wouldn't let her continue enjoying the moment.

"Clary..." - Izzy tried to speak but felt soft kisses trailing down her neck. Why was talking suddenly so hard? She had battled a literal demon this morning and found it easier for God's sake!

"Clary wait..." - Izzy managed to say and Clary immediately stopped and took a small step back, looking at Izzy worried.

"Clary... how much did you have to drink tonight?" - Izzy asked with a slightly shaky voice, somehow fearing the answer more than anything.

"Just those two shots we had at the beginning with the boys." - Clary answered, suddenly aware of why Izzy had stopped and why she was asking her that. 

"I have had just the same amount of alcohol as you have Iz and I know for a fact that we are both far from being drunk." - Clary said in a small but certain voice, suddenly very aware that she was kissing the sister of her boyfriend and even more aware of the fact that she loved it nonetheless.

"I didn't kiss you because I'm drunk, Iz. Nor because I almost lost you today. I mean you did scare the hell out of me, but I know that you're okay now. I kissed you because I've been thinking about it for so long and I didn’t want to stop myself anymore, I know it's complicated because you're with Simon and I'm with Jace and you don’t think of me in that way but... I can't stop thinking about you Izzy and at first, I thought it was because of our _parabatai_ bond but if I'm being honest... I felt that way about you long before you became my _parabatai_ I was just too afraid to admit it to myself… and now we’re in this fucked up situation because of that…" - Clary said holding Izzy's face between her palms.

"Then why didn't you say anything? Why did you wait to become my _parabatai_? We can't be together Clary. It is strictly forbidden for _parabatai_ to be in love with each other." Izzy said and looked down. Truth is Clary could ask her the same thing but the questions already laid heavily between them.

"I couldn't lose you, Izzy, you had just started going out with Simon so if I couldn't have you as anything more than a friend I thought "so be it" but I need you in my life. And I was stupid to think that this feeling would go away after you became my _parabatai_." - Clary explained and felt tears gathering in her eyes.

"But why didn't you say anything?" - There it was, the question Izzy had no idea how to answer.

"I... I didn't want to lose you and I was certain you didn't feel the same way about me." - Izzy said and realized just how silly this all was. They both felt that it was too late for their feelings and now... now it truly was.

Hearing Clary say all this made anger burn inside Izzy, she didn’t even try to stifle the flames that had begun spreading through her body and made her face look worried and pissed at the same time.

“Iz, please say something.” – Clary pleaded but Isabelle kept her mouth shut and only tried to slow her breathing, Clary could feel the ire in her _parabatai_.

“I do like you Clary, but I can’t. I mustn’t. Everything is fine, we can just forget about all this… everything is fine.” – Izzy said and pushed Clary to take a step back from her, still not looking at the girl in front of her, she had just heard the words she had only dreamt of so many times and instead of jumping from joy, her heart was sinking in her feet.

"Damn it, Izzy, just tell me what's going on in that head of yours? And if you say that everything is fine one more time, I swear I'll punch you!" - Clary almost shouted and Izzy finally looked her in the eyes, her thoughts clashing loudly in her mind. 

"I love you ok?!” – Izzy yelled back at her.

“I can't stop thinking about our kiss and every time I see you kiss Jace I feel as if yin fen is leaving my body all over again! And I know... by the Angel I know we are _parabatai_ and there's no way we could be together but I love you, Clary, with all my heart and when you kissed me tonight..." – She added and her voice faltered.

"I thought my feelings for you would pass with time, I mean it happened for Alec... but when you kissed me tonight I just realized how wrong I was in thinking so… and now you’re telling me you’ve felt about me for a while now… how am I supposed to react to that, Clary?" - Izzy said with a sheepish shrug of her shoulders.

“Why did you stay with Jace for so long if you had feelings for me?” – Izzy asked.

“Why did you started dating Simon?” – Clary asked back.

“I didn’t want to get my heartbroken…” – Izzy murmured, exposing the main reason for both of them to keep their silence.

“My plan was simple, get together with Simon and hope that in time I’d only see you as my _parabatai_ and nothing else.” – She added, gone was the fury from earlier. By the Angel all these emotions were exhausting…

"Iz, I don't think your plan is working very well." - Clary said and laughed at her words as she leaned closer to Isabelle and touched their foreheads together, holding back the urge to bring their lips back against each other and the desire to touch her all over once more.

"No, it's not. Especially not with you being this close to me. But we shouldn't Clary, we shouldn't feel this way." – Izzy tried to reason but in a moment of weakness, her eyes landed on Clary’s lips.

You know things are serious when even Isabelle Lightwood began playing by the rules but Clary was Valentine's daughter after all and at this moment, she didn't want to obey the rules, she yearned to break them and keep Isabelle close to her forever.

"You mean I have to stop feeling my heart jump out of my chest each time you're near me, or not think about your lips whenever you pin me down on the training mat... or definitely stop thinking about you in the shower afterward..." - Clary spoke with a raspy voice and this time Izzy was the one that brought their lips back together. Any coherent thought gone from her mind, only Clary's words painting images in her head.

Clary's body was pressed so close to her that she could feel the heat emanating from the other girl, curling her thigh around Clary's back she gave in to the sensations of the moment. The hunger, the lust... the love... it was too good to keep fighting it and so she didn’t, neither of them wanted to keep holding back anymore and they lost each other in another kiss.

"Izzy!!" - Alec's strong voice sounded behind them.

**_*Back to the current moment*_ **

_“Think about Jace…” –_ Alec’s words echoed in Izzy’s mind and it all became too much. She pushed past both Clary and her brother and began running down the street, had it been anyone else they wouldn’t have been able to run nearly as fast with the heels Izzy was wearing but she seemed determined to get away from that alley as quick as possible.

“What were you thinking Clary?” – Alec asked her as they were left alone in the alley.

“I… I wasn’t. I can’t explain it Alec but I made a huge mistake…” – Clary said, looking guilty now.

“It’s… fine.” – Alec said though gritted, trying to calm down but clearly indicating that nothing was fine in fact, far from it.

“Look, I’ll make sure Izzy gets back to the Institute safely and you just go back to Jace and never speak of this mistake again. Ever, Fray!” – Alec said with a slightly higher voice and Clary straightened her back as she looked at him with eyes that were beginning to shine angrily again.

“I wasn’t talking about kissing Izzy, Alec. My mistake was only that I did it so late.” – Clary spoke, annunciating carefully each word.

“Tell Jace I’ll see him tomorrow. I need to find Izzy!” – Clary said before Alec had the chance to reply, shaking her head and quickly sprinting down the street to where Izzy’s form was barely visible in the distance.

“Izzy, wait!” – Clary yelled as soon as she got close enough for Izzy to hear her, they were just two streets away from the Institute and damn Izzy for her ability to do everything in heels, she wasn’t even trying to run anymore, just walking quickly with her arms wrapped around her.

“Isabelle!” – Clary finally grabbed both her attention and her arm, making her turn around and face her.

Clary half expected Izzy to fight her or argue with her but she didn’t expect to see tears falling from her eyes and smudging her perfectly applied makeup.

“Hey.” – Clary almost whispered and cleared the tears with her thumbs, spending some extra seconds just to caress Izzy’s face.

“Is this because you’re feeling guilty of Jace? Izzy, I promise I’ll talk with him tomorrow and do what I should’ve done a while ago.” – Clary tried to calm her but her words only made Isabelle shake her head.

“No, no. There’s no point Clary. Of course, I feel bad for making out with my brother’s girlfriend but there is no point in you leaving Jace now. We can’t repeat tonight’s… whatever it was again. You know that _parabatai_ falling in love is forbidden by law and cursed. We can’t be together, Clary and there is no sense in hurting Jace more than we already have.” – Izzy said and the tears began falling again from her eyes.

“But why? What is the big deal with us being _parabatai_ and in love with each other? Nobody even knows why this law even is! And seriously, Izzy, a curse…?” – Clary asked incredulously that Izzy would believe this.

“The Clave will drag you away if they find out, you saw what could happen to Alec if Jace hadn’t gotten back in time. I can’t lose you because I love you, Clary.” – Izzy said and Clary shook her head and squeezed her hands in hers.

A couple of drunk guys laughing loudly and dancing on the streets came into view and it reminded them both that the streets were not the best place to have this conversation but with their emotional state, their bedrooms were not either.

“Come with me.” – Clary said and pulled Izzy towards the doors of the Institute.

“Clary…” – Izzy had started to protest but followed in Clary’s steps.

“I won’t try to kiss you, I promise. Not until you want me to Izzy, but I don’t want to end this conversation like this. Let’s just go somewhere more private and we’ll talk.” – Clary said and continued moving up the stairs of the Institute toward the rooftop. It was curiously, the less used space in all the building, nobody ever came up here and Clary had discovered that in her first days as a Shadowhunter. Walking up the wooden stairs brought some rather bittersweet memories for her, she had brought Izzy here after the worst of her yin – fen detoxicating shocks passed. She both loved and hated the memories of holding Izzy in pain but at least they managed to get through that together, she could still remember the fear she felt when she discovered Izzy’s addiction…

**_*Flashback*_ **

The waters turned black. Pitch – black, tar-like colored and started bubbling angrily. Clary couldn't believe her eyes, the water in front of her that enveloped Izzy's body began sinking between the violently forming foam around her. But how could Izzy fail the trail? She'd told Clary how much she wanted to join the Iron sisters when she was younger and she had been so excited for the chance to see the fortress that Clary's heart broke for Izzy now. The sisters denied her entrance and the redhead could see Izzy barely holding back her tears but she accepted the sentence with the stoic and signature Lightwood nod in acceptance. Usually, that was Alec's move, he was the one that followed the rules, Izzy enjoyed breaking them.

Once their business with the iron sisters was over, Clary had hoped to talk to Izzy before they got back to the Institute but it seemed that the other Shadowhunter had other ideas since she made sure to walk quickly in front of Clary, keeping her head down until they reached the portal.

Walking back through the portal in the Institute, Izzy almost ran back to her room before Clary could ask her what had happened. Usually, Clary would leave her friends to come to her when they wanted to talk but this time, she felt something yelling inside her to check on Izzy. The older girl had been shaking since she dragged her out of the black bubbling water but Clary had thought that she was just cold, the shivering however didn’t stop when they got back all dry. For the last week since the Izzy got possessed, she had been avoiding all of them if it didn’t have anything to do with patrolling and she had been looking paler and skinnier lately… There was something Izzy wasn’t telling them and judging by what had happened today, it wasn’t something minor either.

“Izzy? Are you ok?” – Clary knocked on the door to Izzy’s room. She had walked in countless times but until recently this door was usually always open.

“Yes, Clary, everything is fine!” – Izzy said from the other side of the door but her voice was stranded and she sounded like she was barely letting any sounds at all escape her lips. Clary took a breath and opened the door, entering the room quickly and closing it back once she was inside the room. Izzy loved her clothes and it wasn’t uncommon to find a couple of shirts or pants thrown on the bed or the chair near the window, but this… this was something much worse than just the usual couple of shorts thrown around. Izzy’s room looked as if a tornado had passed through it. All of her clothes were out of the closet and thrown around the floor, her favorite daggers were on the floor as well and the curtains were drawn together, not letting the light in. Izzy loved the colorful light from the window's glass, she had chosen that room exactly for that, Clary remembered her mentioning it once.

“Izzy…” – Clary gasped as she walked to where her friend was seated on top of the bed, her hands wrapped tightly around her knees, her body was shivering much more violently than before and her skin was so hot to the touch it was getting clammy.

“I’m fine, Clary.” – Izzy barely managed to whisper.

"That's bullshit, Izzy! By the Angel tell me what's going on?" – Clary yelled this time but Izzy only laid on her side, turning away from Clary with knees still tucked to her stomach.

"Isabelle...? Isabelle?!" - Clary yelled her name in order to get the other woman to tell her what was going on but the tremors only got worse and Izzy's face contorted in pain.

The younger Lightwood was shaking like an autumn leaf and no coherent words could get out of her dry lips, as much as she tried to tell Clary that she was going to be fine, her body was screaming otherwise.

It was in nothing more than a low mumbling that Izzy managed to whisper the two words that sent chills down Clary's spine... _yin fen_ …

Now it all made sense... the circles under Izzy's eyes, the black water... the redhead knew that Izzy was still recovering from the wound on her shoulder and she should've been resting instead of going on that mission but when Izzy found out about the opportunity to visit the Iron sisters she had such a bright smile on her face that Clary didn't have the heart to tell her otherwise. So, against her better judgment, Izzy accompanied her on the mission and even though her pale complexion and the circles under her eyes still bugged Clary, there wasn't a real motive to suspect anything else apart from the bad shoulder wound.

There was only one person who could have given her the yin fen, the same person who Clary saw making unwanted advances towards her friend just a night ago. Aldertree was a dead man walking, she was personally going to kick his ass to Idris and back, and if he was still moving, she’d report him to the Clave after that. For him Izzy was nothing more than a pawn to move around and use and when she refused to go out with him, she became disposable. Rage burned in Clary’s mind but her heart was telling her that Izzy needed her more now, she’d take care of Aldertree after her friend had recovered.

However sweet those revenge fantasies were, right now Izzy needed her more than anything else and the world could be burning in that very moment but Clary would still choose to stay with Izzy.

Climbing up on the bed behind Isabelle, Clary gently put her legs on either side of the girl in front of her, she drew her closer and let Izzy fall back on top of her, making sure her lips were brushing Izzy's ear.

"Hey Iz, listen to me. You need to ride it out ok? You can do it." - Clary began talking and brought her hands up, enveloping Isabelle's middle. She wasn’t personally familiar with the effect yin fen had on the body but she remembers Magnus explaining that it was something like the cocaine in the mundane world, so the detox would make sense being similar as well.

"It hurts Clary, it hurts so bad!" - Izzy sobbed in her arms, her skin was burning and heavy, round drops of sweat were falling from her forehead, making her soft black hair stick to her neck and travel lazily down her shoulders. The white camisole that Izzy was wearing was clinging to her skin as if it was glued upon her.

"Shhh, I know… I know… Concentrate on my voice, Izzy. I'm here." - Clary said and hugged Izzy even closer, it seemed to immediately calm the other Shadowhunter just a little bit. Pulling Izzy’s form closer to her and holding her securely around the waist with one hand, Clary guided Isabelle’s head to lean on her other hand and busied her fingers in her black hair, trying to distract her at least a little bit from the pain. Clary’s first instinct had been to draw an _iratze_ on Izzy but it was useless in this case, so she continued with the only way she could think of that could provide some distraction.

"Izzy, have you ever been to Spain? I went with my mother when I was little, she was hired to restore a painting for some museum. You know, there's this charming place in the North of the country, a small village called Fisterra. You can see the Atlantic Ocean from there, it's the most beautiful place I have ever seen in my life. The grass under my feet was as green as the first leaves of spring and the air was crisp and salty, even though it was summer." - Clary began talking softly, without waiting for the other girl to answer and Izzy slowly began listening and imagining every word in her mind. Her shaking was gradually slowing down and Clary took an alleviated breath before she continued, still not letting Izzy out of her arms though.

"You could see the waves below crashing at the cliffs. I didn't know that the ocean could have that many shades of blue swirling together, turquoise, sapphire and aquamarine tones swirling into one another, then there was this light, almost transparent water near the shores but as your eyes would roam further into the horizon you could see the water getting darker and darker. Only the white foam of the crashed waves contrasted with the vastness expanse of blue and green blurred together in the distance. And the sky, Izzy, the sky was a work of art even greater than the Sistine chapel. It was so pretty to see the afternoon sun change the colors above our heads. The cerulean sky got pained with vibrant oranges and soft pinks. Even the first star of the night had shown up already and time stood still for a moment. Can you imagine that Izzy? ... Can you imagine the entire world just freezing for a moment to observe the ending of the day?" - Clary asked and felt Izzy's barely detectable nod. She wasn't shaking anymore and her sweating had stopped but Clary had no idea how long she had been talking for. She'd been saying the first words that popped in her head and even though she was talking from a distant memory with her mother, her mind made her wish for the opportunity to share this in reality with the gorgeous girl in her arms.

"Sounds... magical." - Izzy murmured with a tired voice and Clary could feel her slipping away to dreamland.

"It is, I'll show it to you one day, I promise. Just ride this out, Iz. You will feel better soon… And then I’ll kick Aldertree ass for doing this to you." - Clary said to what seemed to be already a sleeping Isabelle Lightwood but just because Izzy didn't respond back it didn't mean she hadn't heard it. And she definitely felt Clary's peck on top of her hair but friends kissed each other like that all the time when one was feeling bad, right? 

_***End of flashback***_

“Stop going back to that, it only makes you angry all over again.” – Isabelle spoke as her hand was still holding Clary’s and this time it was her that gave it a gentle squeeze.

“This connection is getting weird. Have you been reading my mind all night?” – Clary asked as they reached the top floor and she fumbled a bit with the door.

“Nope, I only heard you cursing Aldertree in your mind now and it doesn’t take a genius to know what you were thinking about.” – Izzy said and they both stepped outside, the night was quiet and they were even treated with an unusually moonless sky, only the stars above them twinkled happily.

“I still think stripping him off his runes was not even close to what he deserved.” – Clary commented.

“Do you forget about the broken nose and arm that you gave him?” – Izzy asked with a giggle, remembering the man’s whining as Clary cornered him in his office one night.

“He was lucky that the rest rushed in when they did.” – Clary said and remembered how in a matter of seconds she had the man crying, pinned under her.

“I should’ve known it wasn’t just friendship that I was feeling for you back then.” – Clary said as they sat near the edge of the rooftop, Izzy seemed to have a thing for heights and while most people were afraid of them, Izzy loved observing the world below her.

“There’s no point in thinking about all the what-ifs Clary, this whole situation is painful enough.” – Isabelle said and her gaze was directed at the distant horizon, trying to detach herself as much as she could from this conversation.

“So, what now Izzy, we just pretend we don’t have feelings for each other? I think tonight we saw that wouldn’t work.” – Clary said.

“We must. This is serious Clary.” – Izzy said and Clary’s frustrations grew even more.

“I am not giving up on this Izzy, on us. Not just because of a stupid law made by people who don’t even know why in the first place. But I’ll keep my word and I won’t kiss you again if you don’t want to.” – Clary said and this time Izzy quickly turned to face her.

“You really think I don’t want you to? Clary, you have no idea how difficult it is not to pull you closer right now and just sit into your lap and continue where we left off in the alley.” – Izzy spoke and moved so close to the redhead that they were breathing the same air.

Clary brought her hand to Izzy’s cheek again and let her thumb brush over her red lips. There was no need to talk, the touches already betrayed them and the desire burning in their eyes. Maybe they could find a way…

“Kiss me, Clary.” – Izzy said with a raspy voice. And to hell with the consequence, Izzy thought and Clary heard that loud and clear.

Their lips met and the hungry kisses from before were replaced with slow exploring ones, Izzy’s lipstick was deliciously sweet and Clary pulled the other girl on top of her. Whatever happened next, they’d face it together.

The next time Clary paid attention to their surroundings was when the first sunrays of the day framed Izzy’s face, making it seem like there was a glowing halo around her.

Their touches on the rooftop were idle, letting the short nails of their fingertips drag on each other’s skin, sneaking an eager tongue between each other’s lips, the occasional teasing tug of the hair and the sweet kisses peppered on the neck… no wonder neither of the women lost track of time. Unfortunately, with the cover of the night gone, it meant that the boys must have gotten back to the Institute as well and Clary was dead serious about having a talk with Jace.

One last kiss and Izzy nipped at Clary’s bottom lip before pulling away from her, seeing Clary pout at the sudden disappearance of the lips that were pressed on hers just a moment ago.

“We should head in.” – Izzy said reluctantly and Clary nodded slowly.

“So, what now, was this just a one-time deal for you Iz?” – Clary asked, suddenly looking panicked as they got up on their feet.

“No, Clary. It wasn’t just a one-time deal but we’ll need to take this extremely slow and carefully. Nobody can know about us.” – Izzy said dead serious. It would only bring unwanted attention to them and to be honest, Izzy was rather worried of the repercussions that would come when the Clave inevitably found out. Nothing in the Shadow world stayed secret for too long but until then, they had time to prepare and if it meant that they had to hide their relationship for now, then so be it.

It was later in the day, just after noon that Izzy finally gathered the courage to go find Alec that was training with his bow in the back yard. Each time he released an arrow it swiftly whizzed through the air and hit the bullseye. She could remember the early days when Alec was not nearly as good with the bow and arrows, he had almost killed their cat on accident a couple of times, no wonder the poor thing escaped when it got the chance.

“I think that’s the first time I’ve seen you speechless.” – Alec said without even turning to see who it was behind him, he could recognize his sister’s staccato steps.

“It’s the first time I don’t really know what to say.” – Izzy said and looked at Alec nocking another arrow on the string of his bow.

Taking a couple of seconds longer than usual, Alec exhaled and released the arrow, splitting in two the one that was already embedded in the middle of the target.

Carefully setting down the bow, Alec finally turned to face Izzy who was fidgeting with her hands, she hadn’t done that in a while.

“I’m sorry.” – Alec said as he stepped closer to his sister.

“I’m sorry for acting the way I did last night but most of all I’m sorry that I encouraged you to follow through with the _parabatai_ ceremony. I… shouldn’t have underestimated your feelings, Iz but you must know why I was so hellbent on keeping you away from Clary in that alley… You know about the curse and I don’t want anything happening to you. Either of you.” – He finally admitted and felt Izzy hugging him so he wrapped his hands around her smaller frame as well.

“You didn’t… you didn’t umm… when you came back right?” – Alec asked not sure what made him more uncomfortable whether it was his little sister sleeping with Clary or him knowing about it.

“No, no… we only kissed.” – Isabelle quickly put his mind at ease not divulging too many details because the frown on his face already spoke volumes and she still had a very important question to ask him.

“Alec, when Jace and you got your _parabatai_ rune, did it… did it gave you some sort of enhanced abilities?” – Izzy asked as they both sat down on the stone bench near the wall.

“Well you already know that it permits you to share each other’s life force and channel it but other than what the books say on the subject no, nothing unusual. Why?” – He asked now worried.

“When Clay and I were ambushed a couple of days ago, I heard Clary’s voice in my head, warning me, and I’m pretty sure she heard mine too.” – She said.

“Like a telepathy link?” – Alec asked surprised.

“Yeah, and my _parabatai_ rune got hotter, just barely noticeable but still.” – Izzy said and watched Alec think.

“Nothing like that has ever happened to me and Jace but…” – Alec stopped and took a deep breath, there was no point in denying the situation in front of him.

“The case with you and Clary is different. From what she told me the other night your feelings are not unrequited little sister but perhaps that would make it even harder for both of you now. Let me ask Magnus if he has any idea about it and in the meantime stay as far away from Clary as you can, please.” – He said and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before getting up and going to search for his husband. Alec had the feeling all this would get much messier before it gets better, for everyone involved.

**_*Meanwhile on the other end of the Institute*_ **

****

There was a reluctant knock on Clary’s door, before the last battle with Valentine, the doors to their rooms were always open during the days but the attack changed many things around the Institute, it was only expected to leave the Shadowhunters themselves more mindful of their personal spaces. Izzy found with unexpected delight that she was rather fond of meditation and letting your mind go blank for a little while Clary shut the door to put the music in her room louder and paint without disturbing the rest. Alec was rarely around since the wedding and Jace was usually either training with his sword or playing computer games with Simon, for all the initial dislike between them, the pair had grown to be quite close. Not like Clary and Izzy, nobody had the connection these two had but Simon was always present to their game nights and patrols around the city.

The second knock on the wooden door got Clary out of her world and grounded her to the current moment, her palms were sweaty and her fingers were ice-cold, she hated this.

“Clary?” – Jace’s voice sounded from the outside and she took three quick strides and opened the door.

“I was wondering where you disappeared to last night. Everything ok?” – He said as he moved to kiss her but Clary managed to deflect the kiss and it landed on her cheek.

“Yeah, everything is… fine.” – She said with a strained voice and invited Jace to sit on the bed beside her.

“I…” – She started talking but kept twisting her hands nervously and Jace was starting to look at her worriedly.

“Hey, you can tell me whatever it is that’s having you so worried.” – He tried to encourage her with a soft voice but that only made the lump in Clary’s throat grow larger. He didn’t deserve this. Why had she waited so long?

“Jace, you’re…” – Clary began again and stopped for a moment before finally willing herself to get this over with.

“You have been amazing since the first day we met. You’ve helped me getting to know the Shadow world and trained me to fight, honestly, I don’t think I would’ve made it so far if you hadn’t been by my side at the beginning.” – Clary said and his face changed from confused to relented.

“Why do I feel like this conversation is not going to end with us kissing and making up?” – He asked with a soft shake of his head and… smiling? What was happening here? Surely Clary would have been delighted to end this conversation and remain friends with Jace but she did expect some reaction other than smiling.

“I think we’ll be better off as friends.” – She said and Jace became serious again. Silence falling between them and freezing this awkward moment in the room.

“Where the hell is all of this coming from Clary? You’ve been acting strange ever since the last battle with Valentine.” – He began speaking, his voice louder than usual but still not quite yelling.

“I’m sorry.” – That was all she could tell him, for now, that was all she wanted him to know.

“Just tell me what can I do to fix whatever is happening right now?” – He said again, this time with a sweeter voice and taking her hands in his.

“There’s nothing to fix Jace, I haven’t stopped loving you, I just… love you differently from before and trust me it wouldn’t be fair to either of us to continue like this.” – Clary said and touched his cheek. She trusted him and knew that he’d never get angry with her, even after everything that happened between them when he had joined Valentine, he had still never hurt her.

“Alright…” – Jace said taking a deep breath and suddenly he himself felt calmer than before, felt lighter in a way but didn’t voice it.

“Alright… I can’t say I understand this but… it’s ok, we’ll still be friends don’t worry.” – He said and Clary moved closer, hugging him tightly.

“I may keep my distance from you for a little while but we’ll be ok.” – Jace said with a raspy voice and hugged her one last time, feeling the weight of her head on his shoulder.

It was weird how light they both felt when Jace shut the door of Clary’s room behind him, it was even weirder to think that only last night they had laughed and danced happily together, one last time as a couple. Clary knew that what happened later in that alley still wasn’t fair to Jace, but the truth is… she had no regrets about it and she’d ask for his forgiveness when the time was right but right now, she only wanted to beat the crap out of the training dummies so tying the laces on her shoes she began making her way to the training room to do just that.

The Institute remained quiet throughout the rest of the day, even lunch was a quiet affair with Alec excusing himself to help Magnus in the library, Clary and Izzy trying not to look at each other with wanting eyes and Jace looking like a kicked puppy with too much pride to acknowledge it.

Of course, it would’ve been too good if they had one day completely to themselves, it seemed that the Universe had some twisted sense of humor that involved them not taking a break from Shadow hunting duties even on Sundays. Out of nowhere, the ground beneath them began vibrating, the plates and glasses on the table were trembling more and more with each passing second.

“What the hell is going on?” – Isabelle was the first to speak as she looked around all the stunned expressions of the people around her.

“Guys! Prepare for attack! Everyone get your weapons ready!” – Alec’s voice boomed through the hall as he came running to them.

“Alec, what’s going on?” – Jace asked with his sword already drawn and ready.

“Magnus and I were at the library researching the origin of the mushroom powder when the vibrations began and the portal froze.” – He explained.

“Shit!” – Izzy cursed but saw Clary still looking a bit lost.

“After the last battle with Valentine when he used the portal in the Library to get to Idris, the Clave made sure that wouldn’t happen again. So, they placed a spell on it of sorts linked with the Institute external defense systems, whenever it senses an attack from the outside it freezes and stops people and things coming in or out.” – Isabelle explained her quietly.

“But what if we need it to escape?” – Clary asked but she already knew the answer.

The rest of the Shadowhunters in the Institute had also ran up to the training hall, it was the nearest point to the massive wooden doors of the church. The door seemed to vibrate violently now and everyone inside could hear the numerous footsteps outside the door…and then it all stopped.

There wasn’t a single thing that moved inside the Institute, most of the Shadowhunters were dressed in their training gear and not a single one of them dared to relax their hold of the seraph blades they held in their hands, even Izzy’s snake bracelet stayed at the ready to uncoil in a second’s notice.

Thirteen seconds passed where nobody dared even breathe loud and Stephanie, one of the Shadowhunters that was in the flanks, relaxed her fighting stance and lowered her blade, ready to put it away and it was just in that moment that the front door exploded and a horde of demons screeched as Valentine and Jonathan entered the Institute, bringing with them the distorted experiments that were once Shadowhunters that had followed the circle’s leader.

That’s when Magnus saw him, a face he wished he’d never see again in his lifetime… Daniel Longhorn was standing two steps behind Valentine, the scum that had betrayed him a couple of centuries ago, once a traitor – always a traitor.

The creatures behind Valentine looked everything but human, some were shorter, others abnormally tall but they all had hollow black eyes and tentacles coming out of their backs. They were truly grotesque and the scars on them spoke of the unimaginable pain they had lived through. 

“Kill them all but bring me my daughter, alive!” – Valentine instructed and watched the demons attack.

At first, the battle was balanced enough, even though the demons had the advantage in numbers, the Shadowhunters from the Institute were one of the best and managed to keep a clear front thanks to Marcus. Isabelle had the pleasure of training with Marcus a couple of times since his transfer to the New York institute year ago, they had even shared a couple of _fun_ nights together, Marcus had been the best fighter she knew after Alec, Clary, and Jace. The problem appeared when Jonathan joined the experiments inside the church and his sword plunged into Marcus’ stomach and twisted the blade up until it touched his heart and Marcus fell on the ground, creating a gap in the line and…

“Magnus!!” – Alec yelled in horror with all his voice. Magnus had just killed one of the demons that was trying to sneak up on him but he had completely missed Jonathan approaching from the side with a flaming sword in his hand and how the blade was already on its way to his neck. But the blow he expected didn’t come because Jace had seen him creeping between the demons towards the warlock and ran through the melee around him, managing to put his sword up in the last moment before Jonathan’s blade managed to touch Magnus’s skin.

It was like the moment got sealed into time as Magnus watched it all happening in slow motion, he just heard Alec’s yell and not a second later a sword was standing between his neck and a gleaming blade aimed to kill him.

Following the hand that held the blade, protecting him from a rather unpleasant death Magnus saw Jace winking at Alec who was visibly relieved to see his _parabatai_ move so quickly.

Jace looked at Magnus and gave him a quick nod with just a ghost of a smile on his lips and pushed Jonathan’s blade aside, letting Magnus escape.

Standing near Isabelle, Magnus bought his hands in front of him and began chanting while seemingly shaping a snowball with his hands.

Izzy could not distinguish the different words but Magnus seemed to repeat the same sentence a couple of times “ _Bebiede þe arisan cwicum_ ” until his eyes glowed yellow and the Institute shook once more only this time, they could hear the clash of big stones falling to the ground around the Institute.

Familiar creatures entered from the shattered wooden door again, only this time almost all of them lurched upon every single demon they could see around, except for the three that surrounded Magnus, keeping him safe while the rest fought. Biting them and forcing their limps apart, the familiar creatures didn’t have the same “refined” fighting styles as the Shadowhunters but it was equally effective.

“Wow! Appreciate the enthusiasm buddy but don’t take my head off as well.” – Clary said loudly as one of the new allies threw a demon hand it had just chewed off at her, not caring where it landed and moved on to the other one.

“They are gargoyles, Clary, they don’t exactly understand sarcasm.” – Isabelle laughed as she heard her _parabatai_.

“Oh! That’s why you guys are so familiar! I didn’t know they did _that_.” – Clary said again as she drove her blade into another demon and saw a couple of gargoyles ganging up on a demon and killing it.

“Why do you think each church has them?” – Magnus asked with a laugh. He still found Clary’s lack of knowledge amusing and it wasn’t as if many people knew about their real function anyway, the entire mundane world thought they were just decorations that dispersed the rainwater!

Jonathan had pinned Jace to one of the columns on the other end of the room, both of them taking the blows and attacking the other with fury and anger. Both fighting for something more than just dominance of the Institute, both fighting for Clary and wanting her on their side, both loving the redhead but in completely different contexts.

The fight continued longer than they thought it would and with the portal closed there was no back upcoming to aid them.

“Izzy, help Jace!” – Alec shouted over the battle noises as he saw Jonathan kicking Jace’s weapon out of his hands.

“I need a minute, _hermano._ ” – She said back and pulled at her whip, bringing one of the demons in front of her to the ground and impaling him with her seraph blade.

Moving swiftly between the raging battle, Valentine seemed to know exactly from where the attacks would come and he’d deflected them all with one quick motion before ending the life of the one who dared attack him.

Alec looked around him as he decapitated the last of the demons that had cornered him. The floor of the Institute was soaked from the blood of his fallen brothers and sisters, mixed with it there were also demon body parts thrown around. Landing his gaze on Stephanie, the girl he used to train with from time to time he saw the trail of blood coming out of her mouth and her unmoving chest, her blue eyes opened and devoid of any signs of life. Many of the Shadowhuners from the Institute had followed Stephanie’s fate, Alec could see them all on the ground… dead but still gripping their seraph blade in their hands. The gargoyles slowly began turning into stone again, Magnus was barely standing up from exhaustion. 

The good news was that only a handful of demons had left to be dealt with, the bad news was that only the people from his team were still standing and fighting, and a pang of guilt flooded Alec. He was glad his team was safe but looking at the lives lost around him made him think back of the last battle with Valentine, he had killed so many and yet even more death followed now.

“Jonathan! Get Clary!” – Valentine’s voice sounded enraged as the wizard next to him opened a portal near the blown door of the building.

Jace had been fighting with one of the swords he found lying on the ground beside him but Jonathan quickly took out a small handful of white powder and threw it at Jace’s face, paralyzing him just like Izzy had been back at the warehouse fight.

“Stay!” – Jonathan said and when he saw Jace fall on his knees but still conscious he gleamed.

“Good boy.” – He said and moved to where his sister was battling two demons.

Jonathan swiftly managed to kill one of the demons and just as gracefully impaled the tip of his sword into the other’s back, not stopping until the tip came out from his chest, letting him fall in Clary’s feet.

“Jonathan…” – Clary mumbled. It was one thing to see him standing on the other side of the room and completely another as he stood in front of her. Still taller and still looking at her with a small smile on his lips, the only different thing about him since the last time she had seen him were the scars that littered his arms, neck, and face. The pale lines on his skin had been his payment from Valentine, a punishment fit for somebody who had let himself believe for a single second that perhaps love was stronger than hate… that perhaps it wasn’t too late for him. Oh, how quickly Valentine had removed that idea from his mind…

“Hello, sister…” – He said before he took the last of the powder in his hands and threw it at her, catching her in his arms before her body hit the floor.

Izzy finished off the last demon that was still fighting and turned to look at Clary, seeing just the exact moment that Jonathan blew that white powder in her face and catching her body, ready to carry her to Valentine.

“Clary!! No!” – She yelled and ran toward them but Jonathan was on the other side of the room, passing directly beside the still kneeling Jace he carried Clary through the portal with Daniel and Valentine in tow, shutting the connection immediately behind them… 

Among the rubble and debris, the loud click-clack of heels could be heard coming down the hall of the institute, the exact one that led to the Library and back. As soon as Alec saw the familiar outline of his mother approaching fast, he could sense a strong headache creeping behind his eyelids.

“What happened here?” – She asked and instantly made his way to Alec, examining him for any still bleeding wounds he might have, happily confirming that he didn’t have any, she looked around the room and saw Izzy sitting next to Jace. Both seemed to be fine physically but Jace was hugging a crying Isabelle and Maryse barely managed to hold her emotions and not rush to her daughter’s side.

“There was an attack on the Institute. Valentine showed up and took Clary with him.” – Alec explained in a low voice and now Maryse understood why Izzy’s eyes were red brimmed, her hair spilling over her shoulders, and her hands still covered in thick black demon blood.

“I have it!” – Magnus said as he walked out of the portal he had just summoned. 

“What did you find out?” – Alec asked Magnus, bringing him attention back to him once more.

“This is powder from _Amanita phalloides_ aka the most poisonous fungus in the Shadow world, looks like a morel’s twin. It is made from directly crushed dried mushrooms and in small doses paralyzes the victim, in large ones... This is nasty stuff Alec, it can easily render a Shadowhunter defenseless, and not just by paralyzing them, it can dull their senses and make them basically a mundane. The older the Shadowhunter the quicker and worse the effect of the powder is.” – Magnus said as he moved his hand above Alec’s forehead, healing the small cut there and stroking gently his cheek.

“We have to go after them.” – Izzy said from the other side of the room, already gathering weapons from the shelves.

“We don’t even know where they are, Iz.” – Jace said and shook his head.

“You have to destroy the colony of the fungus first. Izzy experienced its effects with just a handful of it and it’s a wonder she’s okay now, imagine what could happen if Valentine manages to get his hands on even more of it…” – Maryse reminded Alec and Izzy looked at her shaking her head, of course, her mother wouldn’t understand what it felt like to lose your _parabatai_.

“I’ve found the place where it grows, I can make the portal to there but you have to be careful because it will probably be swarming with demons.” – He said again as he looked at Alec and nodding toward Izzy. Her clothes were torn and her hands were getting sticky with dried demon blood, not to mention that the sting she could feel from it would soon transform into burning if it was left unwashed.

“I’ll wait for you all in the library in an hour.” – Magnus said quietly to Alec and gave him a quick peck on the lips before he disappeared back to his apartment to confirm that there weren’t any more places where the fungus grew and to give the siblings some time to talk. Maryse walked quietly away after Magnus.

“Hey, Iz…” – Alec began but Izzy was still focused on picking up different weapons.

“Alec, get the blessed iron sword, it’s better to be prepared just in case.” – She said as she handed him the sword that was used to burn the evil out of a person.

“Iz, look at me.” – He started talking, his calm voice contrasting with her urgent movements. 

“You need to go get changed, your hands will begin burning if you don’t wash this off.” – He said and lifted her hands for her to see.

“The faster we destroy Valentine’s fungus farm, the faster we can go back to looking for Clary.” – Izzy said and returned her attention to the weapons in front of her.

“Izzy!” – Alec said a little more forcefully and took her hand, he could see his sister was holding back her tears and anger at bay but she had to take care of herself first.

“Izzy, Clary is strong. We’ll find her, I promise.” – Alec said and instantly regretted making that promise to his sister. The truth was that they could only hope for the best but Clary was strong indeed and Valentine had said he needed her alive so that bought them some time at least.

There was a loud cracking sound outside the Institute and the skies above them turned indigo purple, the rumble between the black clouds made a few circles before spewing a lightning bolt that hit one of the windows of the Institute and shattered the colored glass into millions of tiny specs.

“Take cover!” – Alec’s potent voice sounded just before the glass exploded.

There were parts of the window everywhere in the training room, the floor was littered in multi-color shreds and Alec found himself shielding Izzy.

“Let’s get you cleaned and give Jace time to bandage that arm and then we’re bringing the fight to them. I promise you, Izzy, we’ll get them all and save Clary.” – He said and felt her nodding her head against him.

**_*Meanwhile on a tanker off the coast of New York*_ **

The cheers around her were deafening as if a war had just been won, demons of all shapes and sizes with teeth and tentacles in all shapes and sizes roared around Clary, pushing her from one to another from claws, hoofs or horns. Their faces were all blurred into one distorted image, Clary’s mind was hazy from the powder they had thrown at her, only this time she could feel its effects even worse than before.

“Thank you for joining us, Clary.” – Valentine said as she reached the end of the ship. He was standing tall on the upper level of the bridge.

“It wasn’t exactly by choice.” – She mumbled through gritted teeth. Each word that left her lips felt as if she was being stomped under an angry horse.

“Talking like that, I’d think you didn’t want to see me, sister.” – Jonathan said as he stepped beside Valentine. His hair was all white and the scars on his torso and face were even more prominent than the last time she had seen him.

“Jonathan…” – Clary tried to say something to her brother but she didn’t have the energy to finish it.

“You cost me quite a few soldiers, Clary.” – Valentine looked at her with anger but then a heartbeat later he smiled widely.

“But it doesn’t matter. We are all together now. Bring me the seal!” - Valentine shouted and Jonathan stepped back to take something from the demon standing behind him and then quickly handed Valentine a curled old parchment that seemed to be sealed with wax.

“The time has come for the sixth seal to be broken!” – Valentine shouted and all the demons below him cried out in glee.

“The blood of the brother and the sister united, the blood of both angels and demons will bring upon the destruction of this measly world. And then brothers, chaos will reign!” – Valentine continued talking and Clary’s eyes began feeling heavy, she noticed that the guards that had been holding her not to run away were keeping heir hands to themselves now, they knew she couldn’t move.

“You might as well kill me now because there’s no way I’m giving you my blood any other way.” – Clary said, words filled with rage. She was concentrating all of the strength that she had left.

“You don’t exactly have much of a choice dear, but don’t worry… I’ll make sure you see your precious Isabelle very soon, in fact, I am feeling quite generous today so I’ll even make sure that you bring Isabelle to us…” – He said with a sickly faux smile.

“… so you can watch Jonathan rip her heart out himself!” – Valentine added with a giggle and watched the tears run down Clary’s eyes.

“Enough chit – chat though, we have Famine to bring!” – He yelled and took Jonathan’s arm extended to him, slicing his already scarred palm without any care about it. Black blood started gushing out of the cut and Jonathan’s eyes misted with pain but he stood there not moving a muscle, not even looking Valentine in the eyes… he was looking at Clary and for a second Clary saw a scared little boy quivering in fear from his father.

“Your turn, my dear daughter.” – Valentine said and took Clary’s hand putting it palm up on top of Jonathan’s.

Clary tried moving, she tried shouting, even closing her eyes proved impossible… her body seemed as if it wasn’t hers anymore. Valentine drove the knife’s edge viciously through the skin of her palm and hot red blood spilled out. Turning her hand back, palm to palm, brother, and sister stood unmoving, each suffering inside their own shell. Red and black swirled together and marred the floor of the ship, Valentine held the old scroll under the dripping fountain of blood and felt the seal in his arms beginning to break. The sky above them turned violet and black clouds gathered rapidly upon the city, with each drop of blood on the parchment, the demons roared louder but Clary could hear as the wax seal broke further.

_Drip… drip… drip…_

When the fifth drop hit the parchment, thunder started rumbling through the skies and a cobweb of lightning appeared from the sky and for a single heartbeat, everything went quiet… even the air stopped moving before a series of loud and flashy lightning bolts struck the waters around them and some even the buildings of New York. A deafening breaking noise invaded Clary’s senses and suddenly she saw a horse and what looked like a man on top of it stand on the other end of the ship, all demons kept the way Clary had been dragged earlier clear so everyone could see the black horse neigh violently at the creatures around him. The black horse stood tall and terrifying among a sea of demons and yet it wasn’t until its rider looked directly into Clary’s eyes that she lost all consciousness and everything around her became black, hollow, and cold…

“She’s ours now.” – Jonathan said as he looked at Clary’s dark eyes, she stood there unmoving while Valentine brought the warlock, he’d been working with to stand beside her. The demons that had been gathered around them had scattered away on the ship, leaving the horse and the figure on top of it to stand perfectly still at the end of the deck.

“Not yet, but soon.” – Valentine said and nodded to Daniel who had begun chanting.

Two more horses with their riders emerged from the thick fog that enveloped the ship, where once stood only one now there were three horses, one red, one black, and one white neighing side by side. The riders were thin eerie figures, one of them had a sword strapped to his side, the other held a bow, and the third one scales attached to the saddle.

A dark shadow emerged from under Clary’s feet and began creeping slowly up her body, she was petrified and couldn’t see anything but felt all the anger the shadow brought with it, the thirst for blood and suffering, the desperation that invaded and filled her left almost no room for her own emotions… she was suffocating in the dark and she couldn’t even move her lips to scream.

Clary, or at least her body, rolled her head and looked at her fingers, moving them one by one and then she turned and with one quick motion shoved her hand into one of the demon's chest, she could feel a putrid organ barely beating but she pulled fast and hard until a heart like lump was brought outside the demon’s body and he dropped dead on the floor. Clary smiled, showing all her teeth and let out a maniacal laugh.

“Now at least we won’t have to worry that she’ll escape.” – Valentine said and Jonathan stepped beside the possessed Clary.

“You’re going to kill her like that!” – The boy said a little too loudly than he intended and made several heads turn back to them.

“Don’t think I asked for your opinion!” – Valentine yelled back at him and hit Jonathan with his fist across his face, sending him tumbling to the ground. He knew that the boy still had some brotherly affection for his sister, even after all that time, Valentine shook his head.

“You are such a disappointment my boy.” – He began speaking.

“Even after all this time… you still think she could see you as anything else than the monster that you really are? That she can see you as her brother? … Pathetic!” – Valentine spat out.

The look in Jonathan’s eyes got harder, the worst part was that Valentine was right, he just wanted to have his sister by his side and that side didn’t have to be Valentine’s. 

“I just meant we’d need her to break the final seal and if the demon spends too much time in her body you know she’ll die.” – Jonathan spoke again, this time in a much more docile manner.

Valentine seemed to consider his words, he was right but he couldn’t spare any guards to guard his rebellious daughter now, she was too much like Jocelyn, she’d never follow them but they still needed her blood.

“First we need more of that mushroom powder. We have confirmed its effects now, it will come in handy when we go against the Shadowhunters.” – Valentine said.

“You and Clary go and collect the rest from the forest. Can you manage not to get lost in the woods Jonathan or do I need to send you with babysitters along?” – Valentine asked as he looked at the small group of demons that had remained behind them. He was mocking Jonathan, and Clary raged inside the darkness because her brother had tried, Jonathan had tried to keep her alive and even if he was far from being good, her heart broke for him. He had been the one doomed from the beginning, it was pure luck that he was the firstborn and yet that fact had decided his entire life from the moment he was conceived.

“I’ll do it.” – Jonathan said through gritted teeth. His demon blood was flowing in Clary’s system and it was far from the pleasant buzz that she felt from her _parabatai_ rune, it was as if daggers stabbed every inch of her body, just enough to cause pain but never hurt enough to lose consciousness again.

“Find me the last seal.” – Valentine spat out to Daniel as he turned around and walked up to the black horse.

**_*Meanwhile in the Institute*_ **

“Jace, are you sure you’re okay?” – Alec asked as he joined him and Isabelle at the portal where Magnus and Maryse waited for them.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Let’s go.” – Jace said offhandedly as he finished drinking the last vial Magnus just handed him.

“You’re lucky I was prepared this time.” – Magnus chimed in.

“Isabelle, a moment please.” – Maryse said as she took a couple of steps away from the group. Izzy rolled her eyes but followed her.

“Mom, we don’t have time to…” – She began, thinking that her mother would tell her to have her brother’s backs as usual but this time Maryse interrupted her.

“How are your hands?” – She asked, her voice still as usual but her eyes just a little bit softer.

“They’re umm… good. Fine. I managed to get most of the blood off before it started burning too much.” – Isabelle said quietly. She did not expect that question from her mother.

“It’s going to hurt like hell but this will help you heal faster.” – Maryse said and opened a small jar with a bright yellow salve inside. Taking a small portion of it she took Isabelle’s right hand and spread it upon the angry red skin, her movements wavering a bit as Izzy took a sharp gulp of air, trying to hold her screams in. Her mother was right it did hurt like hell, almost worse than the sting from the demon blood but soon enough a cold sensation washed over her and she could see the inflamed skin reform in front of her eyes in a matter of seconds.

When Maryse took her left arm and spread the salve on it, a rebellious tear escaped Isabelle’s eye and maybe it was from the pain in her arm, or because she could feel something was wrong with Clary. When her skin had recuperated, Maryse reached with her hand and brushed off that falling waterdrop, leaving Isabelle even more confused than before. She had rarely seen that side of her mother and even more rarely experienced it directed at her.

“Be careful out there. I wish I could come with you but I know you can do it.” – Maryse said with the tiniest of smiles and stepped back quickly, moving to where the boys were waiting for Izzy to go through the portal.

The next thing Clary knew was that she was in the forest, or at least her body seemed to be, she had been slipping in and out of consciousness, she could feel her arms moving and she could see the leaves and branches around her but she had no control over her actions. She saw the flaming red sword in her hands and then she saw Alec and Jace fighting with a winged figure with ash white hair in the distance… Jonathan… She could also see Izzy, looking at her with sorrowful eyes and swinging a sword at her as well, covered in white flames. She could feel Isabelle holding back, she knew most of her movements by heart from all their training but she couldn’t move her lips to speak.

Alec managed to land a hit on Jonathan’s face and he was quick enough to accompany it with the tip of his blade that dragged along the length of his arm, making Jonathan hiss in pain and the exact same line appeared on Clary’s skin, making her cry out and everyone around her gasp.

“Shit!” – Jace yelled frustrated.

“We can’t hurt him without hurting her.” – Alec said as his mind raced with the possibilities.

“Fools!” – Clary or the thing that had possessed Clary snarked at them.

“We’ll take Jonathan.” – Alec said as he saw Jace nodding with his head, if anyone had a chance against the redhead right now, it was Izzy.

The boys swung in unison against Jonathan once more and Clary’s boot connected with Izzy’s stomach, the force of the attack sent the Shadowhunter tumbling to the dirty ground, knocking the air out of her. Izzy was gasping for air and looking incredulous at the form in front of her. Clary attacked once more, swinging the sword at Izzy’s neck but this time Isabelle managed to parry the blade with her own, the seraph blade in her hand breaking like glass and causing a small explosion that threw both of the women against the nearby trees. Clary was starting to get to her feet and search for where her sword had landed while Izzy was holding her head and panicking, she had just broken a sword that slices rocks… what is left for her to use in this combat?

“Izzy, snap out of it!” – Alec shouted as he stops yet another attack that Jonathan lunged at him.

Jace swung with his sword at Jonathan and he managed to take a step back before the edge of Jace’s seraph blade managed to cut more than his shirt.

Clary, or at least the form that looked like Clary but her eyes were tar-black lifted her sword and angry, red flames began dancing along the whole length of the blade. Izzy still couldn’t believe that Clary had attacked her but that wasn’t her Clary, the thing in front of her was not her _parabatai_ but she was still inside somewhere. Bringing back unwanted memories from the time Izzy herself was possessed by a demon it was clear that they had to act extremely carefully.

“Izzy, catch!” – Jace shouted as he took the blessed iron sword that Alec had strapped to his back and threw it at her.

Isabelle had no problem in catching the hilt of the sword, they had trained these moves hundreds of times over the years, just the three of them, moving all as one well-oiled machine.

“Clary, you have to fight it!” – Izzy yelled at Clary’s form who let out a devilish laugh.

“Clary won’t be here for too long.” – The creature said with a deep voice, completely different from the usual cheery demeanor of the redhead.

Clary attacked once more, this time swinging her blade to the side and thrusting forward, Izzy managed to stop the first pair of attacks but the sword in Clary’s hands nipped at her thigh, shooting electric pain through Izzy’s entire body. The boys weren’t doing much better, Jonathan had consumed so much demon blood that he had the strength of ten normal demons and the and the angel blood in him made it even more difficult to subdue him. And Jace, he was still not quite himself from that white powder, he had been lucky that there wasn’t much left in Jonathan’s pouch.

While Izzy was busy fighting off Clary’s attacks and trying to get close enough to the fungus that was growing on the fallen tree beside them, she could see from the corner of her eye Alec swinging his sword at Jonathan as he was holding Jace by the neck and squeezed. Thankfully, Alec’s attack distracted him enough for Jace to kick him and free himself from the hold.

“I’m sorry, Clary.” – Izzy mumbled under her nose and grabbed one of the dried mushrooms from the tree trunk, shoving it into her pocket. The fungus was already dried and it crushed easily, its powder wasn’t as finely grated as the one that the demons had used on them but it would have to do.

“Come on Isabelle, fight!” – Clary challenged her.

“Or do you need permission for that as well? Should we call mommy dearest and ask her?” – Clary continued to mock her and somehow those words cut through Izzy worse than any other punch she had received before.

“You know, I am much better fighter than you now, I don’t even know why I asked you to be my _parabatai,_ you’re so weak… a boy only needs to smile at you and you start running behind him… You’re so eager to please them because they’ve given you a minute of their time…” – Clary kept talking and approaching her, swinging with her sword and finally managing to kick Izzy’s out of her reach.

“You’re not Clary.” – Isabelle managed to say to the demon in front of her. She knew that it was just its strategy to weaken her and she really tried to keep its words from affecting her.

“But I know what she feels, I could sense her fighting at first but now… now she’s quiet because she knows the truth… behind all that bravado you’re a coward Isabelle and you’ll die as one.” – The demon said and for a moment, Izzy was distracted by Clary’s voice, distracted enough to let herself be brought down to the ground with Clary holding a flaming sword above her, ready to strike… 

Isabelle was almost ready to give up, her body still ached from the fight at the Institute, hearing the demon’s words only made her doubt herself even more, sure she knew not to trust them but there was still a _what if_ lingering in the back of her mind. She saw her reflection in Clary’s hollow gaze, the black of her eyes slowly eating at her very soul until… a loud scream came from somewhere beside them and Izzy turned in time to see Alec holding Jonathan down, the black wings on his back were tied together and Jace held the seraph blade to his neck.

The scream that followed from Clary’s lips was horrifying enough to send chills down the spine of the devil himself had he been present. The demon inside Clary shrieked and dripped strongly at its head, binging Clary’s body on her knees as well, mirroring Jonathan’s position and that’s when Izzy heard it, the faintest of voices inside her head…

_“Izzy… fight please!”_

It was unmistakably Clary’s voice and it was rich with emotion, all the fire that Clary had, her Clary, seeped into those words and gave Isabelle the spark of hope she was so desperate for. Moving quickly to her feet once more, Izzy kicked Clary’s sword away from her reach and reached for the pocket she had stored the mushroom.

For a moment Isabelle hesitated, she heard Magnus explaining the effects of too much of this white powder and prayed to whoever God or Goddess that would listen that Clary was strong enough to take this. Having your _parabatai_ killed was to endure horrible pain and loss for the rest of your life but having them die at your hand… that was probably a maddening fate, she was sure that if something were to happen to Clary because of her actions, she’d share her fate without even thinking about it.

Bringing a handful of the white powder she blew it into Clary’s face, immediately making her stop shouting and she could see the darkness spilling out of her eyes, nose and ears. Thick black lines formed on her hands and disappeared into the ground rushing back to Jonathan. His body was like a magnet for the demon that had just left Clary’s body, it made Jonathan able to throw Alec off of him and onto Jace.

He could see his sister lying on the ground and the boys in front of him stumbling on their feet once more, what neither he nor any of the Shadowhunters could see was the red horse in the distance that was almost camouflaged with the dead trees around it and the figure standing tall on top of him.

They were all exhausted, Clary had been freed of the demon, and Valentine would probably torture him half to death but… his sister was safe. Perhaps her friends could help her defeat Valentine and free him as well, perhaps there was an end to his suffering after all.

Letting the rage inside him surface, Jonathan shot up to the sky, leaving the Shadowhunters pool around the unmoving body of his sister. She wasn’t dead, she couldn't be, right? Clary was the strongest person he knew and perhaps now he could buy her some more time before Valentine broke the final seal.


	4. Just my family's luck

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, again guys! First off, I'm sorry it took me a bit longer to update but this chapter is rather long so I hope this makes up for it.  
> In this chapter, I've mentioned a few things that are real, like the Naga lake but it is in fact the phenomenon of the Naga fireballs which has a very interesting legend behind it so I encourage you to read more about it if you're interested.  
> The abbey is also a real place as well, it is has a very beautiful and mystic atmosphere so if you want to search for it, it's the Marienburg abbey.  
> Also, there is a rather steamy scene in a temple and I am so sorry if anyone feels offended by it, it was not created with this intent.

Clary could feel herself breathing lighter, the piercing pain that accompanied each intake of air was gone, her body felt lighter as well and even though she was still surrounded by the darkness she could hear familiar voices around her. Magnus chanting quietly, Alec and Jace talking about her brother… she could also feel a warm sensation spreading from her left hand through her body, she felt the pleasant, familiar heat she always felt when Isabelle touched her but she couldn’t hear her voice so she held onto the feeling. Even if it was just something her mind made up to deal with the reality of having a demon invade her body, Clary surrendered to the feeling and her consciousness slipped again…

“Magnus, why isn’t she waking up?” – Isabelle asked as she held tight to Clary’s hand.

They have been back at the infirmary of the Institute for over an hour and thanks to Maryse and the team it had all been reassembled in their absence, the place looked almost back normal, as if more than a dozen Shadowhunters hadn’t just lost their lives mere hours ago on those tiled floors.

Said floors were clean now, no traces of blood, red or black, no slime either, all the broken weapons, teeth, glass, and severed tentacles were cleared away. Even the windows were already repaired, the Institute was once again up and running.

“Give it time, Izzy. She’ll pull through, you’ll see.” – Magnus said as he finished yet another spell and put his hand on Isabelle’s shoulder.

“There’s nothing else we can do now but wait.” – He said and slowly walked away, gesturing to Alec to follow him in the corridor, away from Izzy and Jace.

“There’s something you should know about Isabelle and Clary.” – He said quietly once it was just the two of them and Alec’s eyes immediately filled with worry.

“It’s nothing bad per se but… remember when you told me about that telepathic connection they shared? While I was trying to help Clary’s soul to get a better hold of her body, I sensed something, something I should’ve expected if I’m being honest but it still caught me by surprise.” – He said and watched his husband arch up one of his perfect eyebrows.

“Their _parabatai_ bond is stronger than most of the “usual” ones, while there was nothing solid, I could find about the reason for that and believe me I searched through _every_ book and codex, I think the reason is love. Their love for each other in particular, it grows each day and their souls have begun to intertwine, Alec. There is just no way Clary could have handled all this without drawing on Izzy’s energy with the _parabatai_ bond.” – Magnus finally said.

“So, you’re saying that my sister and Clary share life energy? All _parabatai_ do, Mags.” – Alec said unimpressed, he was worried it was something much more serious.

“I’m talking about their souls Alec, Clary was beaten, captured, drugged with a high dose of the deadly fungus powder and possessed by a demon from the lowest depts of hell, no Shadowhunter can survive that with a _parabatai_ bond alone. Clary held onto the tether that Izzy’s love had formed with hers and _if_ she wakes up now, their lives are going to be linked forever, in this life and each one after. I had never seen it before, I mean _parabatai_ are rare enough, _parabatai_ in love… even more, especially because of that law you have in place. Don’t tell me that you haven’t noticed Izzy being more open about her feelings lately and Clary being more confident in herself? Each is starting to mirror the other because their very souls are connecting and if the Clave finds out about them… I fear they won’t endure the separation, Alec.” – Magnus explained, keeping his voice low and watched Alec take a deep breath, this was messy before learning that his sister and Clary had become soulmates, it was even messier now.

“As long as my sister is alive and happy, I don’t care who she’s with and the Clave is too busy with Valentine to deal with this right now, we’ll have time to prepare.” – Alec finally said as the thought about Magnus’ words and the fate that would await Izzy and Clary if the Clave found out about them. Taking Magnus’ hand in his, Alec pulled them both to his room, there was nothing else to do here until Clary woke up and the sky outside was already dark. Tomorrow was another day, hopefully, a better one than today had been.

Jace was still pacing around the bed where Clary was asleep, Izzy could see the worry on his face and she wondered what was the appropriate thing to say at this moment.

“We broke up this morning you know…” – Jace said as he stood next to Izzy and looked Clary’s sleeping form. It took a moment for the words to register in Isabelle’s head, their meaning at least and when it did her eyes widened in horror, had Clary told him about them?

“Wha…what?” – Izzy asked incredulously but she still didn’t let go of Clary’s hand.

“This morning, when I went to see her because last night was a little strange, I mean… she just left the club without even saying goodbye. Alec told me you were feeling tired and she accompanied you back to the Institute but still, she could’ve told me and I’d have accompanied you as well. Anyway… this morning she told me she just wanted to be friends from now and I got so mad at her at first… I love her Izzy.” – Jace spoke and Isabelle’s heart shattered into even smaller pieces. Indirectly, she had caused so much pain to a person she loved so much…

“I don’t want her to die thinking I’m mad at her.” – Jace said quietly and Isabelle saw his eyes watering so she quickly stood up and enveloped him in a hug.

“She won’t die, Jace… She won’t.” – She said and it was a good thing he couldn’t see her face because then he’d have known then and there why Clary had broken up with him.

“I knew things were not really great for a while now but still… I thought we’d push through this phase. I told her that I could be her friend but I was so angry...” – He spoke as his arms hugged his sister even tighter.

“I’m sure Clary knows you well enough by now to know that it was just a momentary thing. Jace you have been nothing short of amazing and just because things have changed and she’s not in love with you it doesn’t mean that she doesn’t love you.” – Izzy tried to sound nonchalant about it but her shattered heart was jumping from joy, Clary did love her after all. 

“You sounded just like her now, it’s not surprising you two are _parabatai._ ” – Jace said with a chuckle and slowly retrieved his hands back.

“You should get some sleep. That arm needs rest.” – Izzy said as she took her previous place by Clary’s side.

“I don’t want her waking up alone.” – Jace said.

“She won’t. I can’t sleep anyway, no point in both of us staying up. Valentine won’t attack again so soon, he needs time to regroup as well.” – Isabelle said and Jace didn’t argue with her, he wouldn’t have left Alec either had their roles been reversed.

“Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow then.” – Jace said and gave Izzy a quick hug before exiting, he had already come close to losing his own _parabatai_ so he knew well enough not to meddle in these things.

Only Izzy and Clary were left in the infirmary now, surrounded by heavy silence and dimmed lights, Isabelle sat on the chair by Clary’s side, she was hunched over her legs and held Clary’s hand with both of hers.

“I need you to pull through Clary, we all do but I… I don’t think I can live without you.” – Izzy managed to say, barely above a whisper near Clary’s ear and she brought the redhead’s hand to her lips and kissed it.

There was no reaction from the Shadowhunter lying in the bed, she was still unconscious and even though Izzy didn’t expect a miraculous wake up, this wasn’t a Disney movie after all, if anything it was more of a Grimm’s tale but she did feel even more helpless than before.

“Fight Clary.” – She said again and reclined back on the chair, looking at Clary’s sleeping form until she herself slipped into the world of dreams.

After several hours, it was still dark outside when Izzy felt the hand inside hers squeeze, it was the gentlest squeezes of all but it happened two, three more times and Izzy’s mind woke up completely. She looked at Clary again, her face was not as white as before, her cheeks were almost back to their natural rosy color and Izzy didn’t notice herself leaning even closer until Clary’s head shot straight up and collided with hers… again.

“Ouch…” – Izzy complained as she saw a pair of green eyes staring back at her. Something felt different now as if she was seeing the world around her with sharper edges and more vivid colors, the difference was barely perceptible but it was there. Not to mention how much lighter she felt now that Clary was finally awake.

“Izzy!” – The redhead quickly enveloped her _parabatai_ in a hug. It was a long and tight one and Izzy wouldn’t have had it any other way.

“Thank the Angel you’re awake!” – Isabelle spoke as she held Clary.

“I heard you.” – Clary said with her head buried in Izzy’s neck.

“I heard you earlier when you told me to fight.” – She added.

“I’m so tired.” – Clary admitted, this time the words slurred together.

“You should get some more sleep.” – Izzy said as she guided Clary’s body back down to the mattress.

“Valentine, he… and Jonathan… break the seal… War…” – Clary was mumbling now, her eyes closed again but this time Izzy could feel her heart thumping normally inside her chest.

“You can tell us everything once you are better rested Clary.”- Izzy said and began getting up, her body was not very cooperative after she slept in the most uncomfortable chair on earth.

“Don’t leave me Iz.” – It took all of Clary’s power to say these words and she wasn’t even sure how she managed to say them but it seems like Izzy had understood because she soon felt the warmth of another body sliding beside her and hold her, just like she had held her when Izzy told her about the yin – fen. With their roles reversed now, both girls drifted off to sleep again.

Several hours later, a persistent ray of sunlight streamed through the windows of the infirmary and Isabelle was the first to wake up, she was still hugging Clary’s body close to hers and her lips were barely an inch away from the other girl’s neck. She could feel her hands tightly wrapped around the redhead and their legs intertwined under the covers, she could feel the warmth emanating from her body and suddenly she was very awake. Izzy wanted to move her hands slowly under the hem of Clary’s shit, trace the expanse of milky white skin around her bellybutton, leave a small kiss on Clary’s neck and trace even more kisses up and down the length of her neck.

Before she could stop herself, Izzy’s lips moved closer to the point just behind Clary’s left earlobe and pressed softly there, the kiss was so soft that at first Clary thought she had been imagining it but her heart began beating faster. Her breathing went from deep and even to quicker and more erratic, she turned her head around slowly, giving Izzy enough time to freak out about what she had just done.

“Hey…” – Izzy was at a loss of words, torn between leaning closer and capturing Clary’s lips with hers and blushing embarrassed from her actions and even though Clary could clearly feel her internal conflict she stayed quiet, only a happy smile graced the features of her face.

_“Dear God, how much I wish to kiss you right now.” –_ Izzy thought and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and started pulling her hands and feet back to herself, but Clary quickly tightened her hold on her.

_“Then what is stopping you, Izzy? I already told you, if you take the step, I’ll follow.”_ – Clary thought and her face shifted in a coy smile now. 

_“What if Jace comes in?” –_ Izzy asked without moving her lips.

_“You know he’s like an elephant in a glass room, we’d hear him a mile away.”_ – Clary said with a small chuckle, the Institute was still in a state of luscious slumber, the halls were empty and silence reigned the corridors. Soon the others would wake up and their bubble would be broken but now… now they were the only ones awake.

Clary moved even closer to Isabelle only to stop a hair shy of their lips meeting, their arms still holding the other, letting Izzy complete the move and she did. She sealed the space between them and just like before their lips brushed ever so lightly, barely touching at all when…

“Ahem…” – An awkward sound caught their attention and they quickly pulled apart, watching at the person standing on the door of the infirmary.

Magnus was looking up at the ceiling and cleared his throat once more while he polished his black painted nails on the front of his shirt.

“I um… we… it wasn’t… we just…” – Isabelle was the first one to try and fill the awkward silence but only managed to stutter a string of unintelligible words.

“Right… let’s just pretend I understood what you said and there was a perfectly reasonable excuse for you and Clary’s lips to be touching in this particular… position. The boys will be here shortly though so you might want to… change positions a bit and not give your brothers a heart attack.” – Magnus teased and looked at Isabelle with a friendly wink.

Clary was still feeling a bit tired even though she had slept for almost twelve hours and she immediately regretted not having Izzy holding her anymore as the other Shadowhunter quickly moved away and got to her feet. Just as she was making sure her clothes were somewhat presentable, Isabelle heard heavy footsteps approaching quickly.

“Clary! I’m glad to see you awake.” – Jace rushed to her out of habit but quickly remembered he couldn’t kiss her anymore, he was only allowed to worry and hope she would make it but they both knew that some time would be needed to get used to this new normal so when he hugged her she allowed herself to return the gesture without any hesitation. Her eyes looking at Izzy who was smiling softly at them, she could feel the guilt her _parabatai_ was feeling but it was nice to see Jace and Clary being nice to each other again, the last couple of months their relationship had been pretty rocky thanks to the constant fights and arguments.

“Good to see you awake, Fray. You gave us quite the fright.” – Alec said with a curt nod, she wasn’t sure how much Izzy had told him about them or how much he knew from Magnus and how much he had supposed himself but she could see he was glad to have her back with them too.

“Thank you, all of you for not giving up on me.” – Clary said as she looked at Alec and Jace now.

“We are family, family always helps each other.” – Alec said, his voice clear and resolute but everyone knew he meant those words.

“Clary, you mentioned something before you passed out, something about breaking the seal…?” – Isabelle asked and Alec was glad she steered the conversation back to the matter at hand.

Clary took a deep breath and steeled herself, remembering how Valentine’s troops growled and snickered as she walked between them, how Valentine cut Jonathan’s palm with no hesitation, how Jonathan’s eyes were searching for her, how he had tried to keep Valentine’s anger directed at himself and not letting it get transferred onto his little sister… Clary could see Isabelle looking at her quizzically like she had just seen it herself but couldn’t explain what she had seen, only a string of frozen memories without any context.

“Valentine is bringing the day of the last judgment.” – Clary said and heard everyone in the room gasp before silence enveloped them.

“How..? Clary, are you sure?” – Jace asked still shocked.

“I saw three out of the fours horsemen of the Apocalypse with my own eyes Jace!” – She said a little bit louder than she intended.

“It would certainly explain many things. Just think about what has been happening in the mundane world lately, we didn’t notice it because we don’t pay attention to the mundanes and don’t interfere in their affairs but think about it for a second. The global fires that ravaged the globe, the pandemic that is going around now, some countries have even declared official lockdowns…” – Magnus began talking.

“I haven’t seen anything out of the ordinary here.” – Jace interrupted him.

“Apparently the one in charge of this country is being quite… let’s just say incompetent but all the newspapers have been talking about the chaos that’s been happening around. Clary, did you get to see or hear something in regards to who are the horsemen that he’s brought back?” – Magnus asked.

“I only remember Valentine yelling about summoning Famine but I don’t know who the other two were. One of the horses was red and the other one was white.” – She said.

“Ah, War and Pestilence then…” – Magnus said and his expression went even more serious than before if that were possible.

“That means they have broken the sixth seal and only Thanatos remains to be brought forth.” – The warlock spoke again.

“How do we stop him then? How do we send the horsemen back where they came from?” – Alec asked as he looked at his husband, watching Magnus looking at him with heavy eyes.

“We can’t.” – He said solemnly.

“What do you mean we can’t?!” – This time Jace was the one to speak up.

“It takes a _lot_ of magic to summon the horsemen, they are not some toys to play with! Daniel Longhorn, the warlock that’s working with Valentine, he’s very powerful and I’m sure he’s tethered the horsemen to Valentine. He’s summoned them, he controls them and they won’t rest until each of them accomplishes his mission, not until _all_ of them finish their missions. We can only prepare for when he tries to summon Thanatos and pray that he fails because if he rises there’s no stopping the Apocalypse. Valentine wants to rule this world but he never said he wanted to rule the people here as well, he has no use of the mundanes, he only cares about the abominations he created with the mortal cup. He won’t stop, he needs the fourth horsemen and the most dangerous one of them all – Death.” – Magnus explained.

“Valentine didn’t summon them, he spilled mine and Jonathan’s blood to do it.” – Clary said and now the mark on her palm made sense. Magnus shook his head and felt a strong headache beginning to make its way through his head.

“That means we can’t send the horsemen away without killing you, all three of you since you and Jonathan do carry Valentine’s blood in your veins.” – He said. Watching Alec realize what that would mean for Izzy as well, not daring to voice his thoughts out loud because Jace still had no idea that Izzy and Clary were together, much less that their souls had linked together.

“That son of a bitch!” – Isabelle threw her hands in the air, she was getting frustrated now.

“We need to alert the Clave and gather the Council with all the downworlders represented. We need to get ready.” – Magnus said again.

“I’m on it.” – Alec said and he headed out of the infirmary.

“Jace, I need you to get me some books from my apartment, please. I have to search for something in the library here and I need them as well.” – Magnus asked with a polite tone and handed him a list with a couple of titles written down on it, even though it seemed like a simple favor, it was obvious for everyone present that Magnus needed him out of the room.

“Alright.” – Jace agreed and headed out, only sparing Clary a small smile before heading out, he was genuinely happy she had survived. 

“Clary, Isabelle… I need to speak to you.” – Magnus said once the boys had cleared the room and Jace was already out of the Institute.

“I need you to go meet with sister Afia. She’s an iron sister but she doesn’t live with the rest of them, she and a couple of other iron sisters live in a monastery near Mals in Italy. The place is called Marienberg Abbey and for the mundane world it’s an abbey.” – Magnus was speaking as he was leading them towards the portal in the library.

“Magnus, I need to change first, I can still brush dry leaves out of my hair.” – Clary said and emphasized her point pulling on a small leaf that had been tangled in her red hair.

“Fine, but be quick about it, please.” – He agreed and followed them both to Izzy’s room.

“Why doesn’t she live with the rest of the sisters?” – Isabelle asked, she had never heard of an iron sister living somewhere else and while she used the time to change into something else herself, her curiosity was getting the best of her.

“Let’s just say that sister Afia is… a bit special. She’s been around for a lot longer than the rest of them and she likes her solitude. However, no men are allowed to visit there so only you two can go. Ask her for help, she’s the only one that can tell us what to do now after all… she’s the only one that has survived through this once already.” – He added and heard both girls gasping surprised. They had just finished changing and were back on their path to the library.

“What do you mean she has survived this already?!” – Clary asked clearly confused.

“I mean this is a long story and not even mine to tell. There is no time left to waste with stories right now biscuit but know that she’s our last hope.” – He said and opened the portal, chanting as he shoved a faded picture in their hands.

“Visualize and go. We’ll talk when you get back.” – Magnus instructed them and both girls stepped through the portal.

Immediately the pair were transported to the inside of a wooden structure, like the antechamber of a room made entirely out of dark wood and stone. Tapestries of an epic battle were hung all over the walls and the massive window arches were empty, letting all the cold mountain air seep into the room. The looked around them quickly, nothing but old, evergreen trees surrounded the place and there was a thin sheet of fog in the air. Turning around, Isabelle saw a door behind them, wooden and in the same style as the window frames, they only had one way to go now, only one way to find sister Afia, so she nodded toward the door and Clary joined her as she walked up to it, knocking twice before turning the doorknob and entering.

The room they saw in front of them was bare of any and all furniture except a small bed, a huge table, a chair, and a fireplace with fire lit inside it. The air smelled of toasted pine cones and chestnuts, there was even a faint smell of caramelized sugar but they couldn’t from where this scent was coming.

There was a woman sitting on the chair behind the table, facing them, she had glasses perched on top of her head and was holding in her hands some sort of a curved blade, running her fingertips over the edge ever so softly, almost reverently. The woman was dressed like the rest of the Iron sisters but her once dark curly hair was littered with ash white curls now, she had beautiful, deep, warm and rich brown eyes matching the color of her skin and the look of recognition on her face surprised both Shadowhunters.

"Isabelle Lightwood. You've grown quite a lot since our first meeting. "- Sister Afia said even before Izzy had stepped into the light. Her voice was empty from any signs of surprise, something Izzy and Clary had been expecting and were now looking even more puzzled at her.

"You know me?" - She asked with a small smile, part amazed, part surprised. Then the woman stood up from her seat and carefully left aside the weapon she was working on.

"Maryse brought you here once or twice when you were younger. You seemed to be a natural when it came to weapons handling, but even if my sight deceived me, I'd recognize that electrum whip everywhere." - Sister Afia said and nodded toward her wrist where the silver snake bracelet was resting comfortably.

"Your mother requested it personally for the day of your rune ceremony. And insisted it was made so that only you could use it, she had even come up with the design herself." - The sister talked and Izzy honestly wondered if the sister was still in her right mind to say all this about her mom when she was barely present to her rune ceremony at all.

Maryse and Robert had been busy traveling around the world all her life, she only remembers the training with her mother, the only real-time they got to spend together, just them... she could remember even those little praises that escaped Maryse once in a blue moon. Not to mention that is was actually Robert that had given her the whip as a gift, this was getting more and more complicated with each step they took.

“Sister, we need your help.” – Isabelle spoke, returning to her professional Shadowhunter façade, not wanting to dwell on all the thoughts that were invading her head, all the questions that she was eager to ask her mother when she came to visit them next time.

“Valentine has found a way to bring back the three of the four horsemen, War, Famine, and Pestilence, and he’s managed to bind them to him. He is on his way to summoning the last one and if that happens neither the Shadow nor the mundane world stand a chance. Our seraph blades have no effect on him, we need a weapon that can bring him down once and for all.” – Clary spoke beside Izzy and saw sister Afia giving her a once over, examining carefully her features from head to toe with a clear distrust in her eyes. 

“The only weapon that can ensure someone’s complete obliteration is _Glorious_ , the sword that archangel Michael himself had, it was last used in the battle of Jericho when the prince of hell led a rebellion on Earth but I do not know where it may be now…” – Sister Afia said with a shake of her head and directed her next words to Izzy who was starting to look desperate.

They needed that blade, everything depended on them obtaining that sword and Sister Afia talked about things that had happened so long ago, some people even considered them a myth, except Clary and Izzy, was more convinced by the second that it was, in fact, sister Afia that had personally seen the sword in action.

“The only one who can help you with finding it, is Pythia but be warned child, she doesn’t do anything without proper payment and she has been bound to a place in exile for centuries. Everything has a price and the less tangible the reason is, the higher the payment. So be prepared when you face her, gaining her favor is not an easy feat and it will surely test the limits of what you’re prepared to give up for the answer you seek.” – Sister Afia said finally and returned to her work. It was clear that she had told them everything she had to say, it was time to search for Pythia it seemed.

“Pythia? But… isn’t she the oracle from the Greek mythology? Is she even real?” – Clary asked suddenly very confused.

“Oh, my dear, do you really believe that _the_ battle has been led for merely two thousand years?” – Sister Afia asked laughing now.

“There has been good and evil much earlier than Jesus was anointed the son of God, this battle has been raging since the beginning of time when the names of the Gods were as impossible to pronounce as their image was impossible to behold without bleeding from the eyes and dying. Names and places change, child, but everything else stays the same.” – She said while smiling just as enigmatically as before as if it was the easiest explanation to all their troubles.

“Come on, Clary, we should go.” – Izzy said and tugged at Clary’s hand in the direction to the portal that would lead them back to the Institute. 

Clary and Izzy stepped through the portal in the library of the Institute and were greeted by the last person they expected to find there - Maryse Lightwood.

“I hope your trip to see the sisters proved useful.” – Izzy’s mother said in her usual business voice, not wasting time with greeting her daughter or her _parabatai._

“It did. We need to find Pythia, she’s the only one that can help us find a way to kill Valentine. What are you doing here, mom?” – Isabelle asked as she and Clary began following Maryse back to the operation center in the Institute.

“I am here to help you of course.” – Maryse said as if it was the most obvious thing and when she saw Izzy and Clary’s stunned faces her cold façade broke just the tiniest bit.

“Alec and Jace briefed the Clave on the situation after the attack on the Institute… everyone is scared Isabelle, something big is coming and since the last fight with Valentine, our numbers are significantly low. The Clave sent me to help you with the missions while they iron some details with the council of the Downworlders who are against Valentine. If what Clary said is true…”

“It is.” – Isabelle said with an iron-clad voice that stopped her mother in her tracks as they had almost reached the command center.

“Then we are in big trouble, Isabelle. You are going to need all the help you can get.” – Maryse said and continued walking back to where Alec, Jace, and Magnus were standing, talking over a map. Being just a few steps behind Maryse gave Clary the time to walk up to Izzy and take her hand giving it a light squeeze, reminding her not to let Maryse get to her.

“We need to find Pythia.” – Isabelle said as she and Clary entered the room. The attack had left a lot of damages to the Institute and Clary could see the room that was once filled with screens, computers, and maps now being half empty once everything broken was thrown out.

“Pythia?” – Magnus asked and looked as if he’d just eaten the sourest of lemons.

“Do you know her?” – Alec asked with an arched eyebrow and a voice an octave higher than usual, he knew Magnus’ number of lovers before him was a big one but it still surprised him when they ran into any of his exes.

“I know _of_ her. Never contacted her myself, I’ve heard she is quite… peculiar to deal with.” – Magnus quickly said with a roll of his eyes.

“Can you make us a portal to her?” – Clary asked.

“Biscuit, she’s not even on the same Earth as us… well technically at least.” – Magnus explained but it only confused the team even more.

“I’ll search for a way to find her.” – Said Maryse but before she could run off the room, Magnus stopped her.

“Hold on… I’m a high warlock of Brooklyn after all, I’ll be back in a couple of hours and you…” – Magnus said and looked at the rest of the Shadowhunters.

“Better get ready because whatever her payment is, you can’t say no to her.” – He added and disappeared with a click of his fingers.

True to his word, Magnus returned to the Institute just two hours and thirteen minutes after he left and he had brought with him a huge bag of things.

“Alright, let’s get started, shall we? Biscuit you draw, Izzy you sort out the herbs.” – Magnus said as he handed Clary three colored chalks, yellow, white and green and a page with an intricate design on it. The swirly lines and dots reminded Clary a bit of the mandalas she had seen in her art classes but didn’t question Magnus about it, now wasn’t the best time for a magic lesson.

Izzy was handed a smaller bag with different dried herbs and a list of which ones to pair for them to burn them in sequence.

“This is quite complicated huh?” – Clary asked as she began drawing.

“Had it been easy everyone would’ve do it biscuit and we can’t have people stumbling upon Pythia by chance, oracles are sneaky creatures not bad nor good. They have been around since the beginning of time itself, don’t let the stories about sweet little virgins fool you.” – Magnus said as he sat cross-legged and began chanting under his nose.

Ten minutes later and everything was ready, the herbs were burning in small wooden bowls around the room, some were already consumed entirely by the flames others had just been lit. Clary was going over the picture one last time, making sure that every element was where it was supposed to be an in the color it should be.

“Alright, everyone form a circle, and _don’t_ let go of the person next to you until we get there.” – Magnus said and looked at Alec who let out a small laugh and agreed. Once, just once he had interrupted a ritual and now Magnus teased him each time they had to do that.

… It was the very first thing you saw really, the very first thing you noticed when you’re not surrounded by concrete and instead the grass around you glows with emerald hues. When they returned from meeting sister Afia, the afternoon sun was high in the skies but now it felt like the sun was just peaking above the horizon and the day was beginning.

“Are you sure we’re in the right place?” – Jace asked Magnus as he made a couple more steps ahead of the group.

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.” – Magnus said with a mock offense. It was a silly question to ask a hundred – ish old warlock if he could detect energies right.

“Alec, keep your bow ready, something feels off.” – Maryse said as the group advanced in a leisure pace.

Izzy was walking right beside her brother when she felt the snake on her wrist uncoil and hiss, it made her look carefully around them but there was still nothing out of the ordinary, just a lot of grass, trees and some rather pretty bell-shaped flowers.

Clary had been a bit distracted by the beauty of this place, it seemed almost ethereal as if it was plucked out of a fairy tale. The air was lighter even though it was rather hot, the green around them seemed fresh and the river beside them flowed quietly. The flowers around them were in full bloom, letting them appreciate their big white petals that seemed to twist as they went up, and exposing proudly a purple line that contoured the edges of the flower.

“Guys you might want to breathe carefully while we are here, no big inhales please.” – Magnus said.

“Are you telling me I shouldn’t breathe?” – Jace asked as if someone had taken then the last piece of pizza from him.

“I’m saying don’t breathe with full lungs and keep in mind that you might see or hear things that aren’t real while we are here. This flower that grows all around us is _datura_ , it’s extremely toxic if ingested and it is known to cause hallucinations if you inhale too much of its scent. Although it’s very handy when it comes to divination and enchantments.” – Magnus explained, getting a little bit carried away.

“Focus everyone, let’s find Pythia and get out of here as quickly as possible.” – Maryse urged them again.

“Of course, she’d chose to live surrounded by poisonous plants.” – Clary huffed frustrated. While the place was rather ephemeral it was also a death trap disguised as paradise.

“You are quick to judge Clarissa.” – A young girl, around their age, perhaps a couple of years older than Izzy and her suddenly appeared from between the branches of the nearby tree and said. And goosebumps erupted all over Clary’s skin because she knew that nothing good ever came from hearing her full name.

“Please tell me I’m not hallucinating.” – Clary said as she watched the young woman step closer to them. She seemed to almost skip her steps as if she was so glad that they had finally found her.

“No biscuit, you’re not hallucinating.” – Magnus said as he stepped closer to Clary, ready to shield her if the girl attacked unexpectedly with magic. He had a tingling feeling in his bones that the magic this “girl” possessed was more than just a couple of centuries-old, it felt as if he was in the presence of something primordial that just like the rest of the scenery was wearing a mask as a pleasant distraction.

“Who are you and how do you know her name?” – Izzy asked, eyeing the girl in front of them. She could lie and tell herself that she wasn’t beautiful but the truth was the exact opposite.

The woman standing in front of them was dressed in a short-sleeved white and purple airy dress that covered her form, until it reached her mid-thighs then it left her live skin uncovered. Her eyes were like green emeralds and her hair was raven black, wavy but far from being curly.

“You come looking for me and yet you ask who I am? Come on Izzy, you are smarter than that.” – Pythia said and something in Clary didn’t sit right at all when she heard the oracle calling her _parabatai_ by her nickname. Of course, Clary knew that Izzy was beautiful and she had seen plenty of times people flirting with her when they go out both before and after the ceremony but having thousands of years old oracle look Izzy with pure lust in their eyes rubbed Clary the wrong way. 

“Isabelle.” – Izzy quickly corrected Pythia as she felt Clary’s uneasiness and sent her a look not to interfere. They still haven’t told anybody about them and now was far from the ideal moment for this particular secret to come out.

“Wait, _that’s_ Pythia?” – Jace asked equally surprised Alec under his nose.

“What did you expect Jonathan Christopher? A wrinkly old woman, covered from head to toe and holding a magical staff and talking gibberish?” – Pythia asked still playfully and Jace felt like a kid who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

“If you know our names, you know why we are here as well. Name your price and give us the information we are after.” – Maryse cut in, ever so cold and professional.

“Easy there Maryse, I haven’t had visitors in a couple of centuries, I’d like to savor the moment.” – Pythia said and winked at Isabelle who was looking odd and was scratching her neck, she was as embarrassed by the sudden attention as Alec had been when he first met Magnus, only Izzy could feel the jealousy that was starting to boil inside Clary. Had they been alone, Izzy would’ve taken her hand and kissed her, and reassured her that there was nothing she should be bothered about, she was hers.

Izzy’s hands itched to do just that, pull Clary close to her and press their lips together but Pythia’s next words quickly brought her back to the current moment.

“I know what you are seeking and where you’ll find it but first, do you agree to accept my payment even if you don’t think it’s fair?” – Pythia asked seriously.

“Name it first.” – Izzy said but for some reason it made Pythia laughed.

“That’s not how it works, darling Isabelle.” – She answered and saw Clary’s fists coil again, oh how amusing those half-humans were.

“We’re already here so it’s not like we have much of a choice in the matter.” – Clary said boldly, surprising everyone around them, except Isabelle.

“Hmm, alright but don’t say I didn’t warn you first." – The Oracle agreed with a smirk.

"The things coming your way are going to cause you much suffering and loss, and pain. All of you will have to make the ultimate sacrifice and for your sake... I hope you don't hesitate when the moment comes even when the price seems too high...” - Pythia's voice turned serious now.

"Great, thanks. That's very helpful." - Clary huffed impatiently. 

“That fire… so much like Iraia.” - Pythia mumbled as she was still looking at Clary when her eyes colored white and she spoke again, this time loud enough for everyone to hear and leaving Clary to wonder what she was talking about... she didn’t even know who this Iraia person was! Seriously, if Clary discovers another hidden sibling somewhere around the world, she’d personally bring back Jocelyn from the other side and have a very serious talk with her.

“Dig under the roses in the backyard of the Lightwood’s manor, there you’ll find what you need... and perhaps... something even more precious…” – Pythia said and suddenly five pairs of eyes turned to look incredulous at Maryse but before she could protest that this was impossible and she had no idea what the Pythia was talking about, the oracle continued talking.

“She doesn’t know it’s there. She never knew it was left there… so many years ago.” – Pythia said with an amused laugh and even a slight sing along the last words as if they were the most amusing game but Izzy still didn’t look convinced about her mother’s ignorance. The Oracle’s eyes had now returned to their previous color.

“Now, as for my payment… I demand two things.” – The Oracle trailed off, making a show of supposedly thinking about it, although she had long since decided it.

“One, there’s a crystal cave in the heart of Taiwan that’s guarded by _shota_ demons, near the Naga lake. Pesky, little things really, their presence keeps messing with my prophecies hence their existence has become rather inconvenient for me and since I can’t fight them myself… I need you to destroy them for me.” – She said and watched the Shadowhunters nod in agreement, they weren’t exactly pest control but there was a price to be paid and considering all the things the oracle could’ve asked from them that was one of the easiest to do. _Shota_ demons were one of the lowest class of demons that drew their strength from the energy of the crystals and understandably the Oracle couldn’t use the crystals once their natural earth energy was gone.

“And two…” – Ah here it was, Magnus rolled his eyes, it was never that easy with oracles.

“A kiss… from Isabelle.” – She said with a coy smile, and moved closer to Izzy who was fidgeting uncomfortably now. It was one thing for her to flirt her way in and out of situations on her own and completely another to kiss someone because you were told to. Again, not that Pythia wasn’t attractive but she could feel Clary’s jealousy burning even stronger now but the redhead only bit her lip, preventing herself from saying anything and looked at Izzy, the decision was only hers to make.

“You can’t deny payment to the Oracle, Iz.” – Jace mumbled behind her and the tension around them got even more charged than before.

Isabelle on her part, like a true Lightwood, held her head high and closed the distance between Pythia and her, bringing their lips together and making Clary wince as she saw the other woman bringing her hand to Izzy’s neck and deepen the kiss. It was funny how time seemed to drag for Clary, the knuckles on her fists were already white and she could feel her curled hands beginning to shake with anger, and how fast the kiss ended for Pythia. 

“Tell me, Isabelle…” – Pythia began talking as soon as Izzy’s lips left hers, she was still looking at the Shadowhunter with lust-filled eyes.

“Is there _anybody_ in your family that isn’t in love with their _parabatai_? Or… is this a family tradition?” – Pythia asked with a sultry voice and eyed all three Lightwoods. Alec’s cheeks were burning and he was blushing from the base of his neck up to the tips of his ears mumbling “ _shit_ ” under his nose.

Beside him, Izzy stood petrified with her eyes and mouth wide open, not sure how the Pythia knew about her and Clary but managed to let out a more audible “ _fuck_ ” that her brother and heard a sincere “ _merde_ ” coming from her left, right where her mother was standing. _Wait, what_?

Izzy and Alec were already looking guilty but now they both looked surprised at Maryse, Jace was left with an open mouth while Clary looked worriedly at Isabelle and Magnus… well, he was trying hard not to laugh at the absurdity of this whole ridiculous situation. Was Maryse in love with her _parabatai_ as well? Alec and Izzy didn’t even _know_ that she _had_ a _parabatai_ to begin with!

“I mean I’ve heard people say that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree but still… what is it with you Lightwoods and breaking the rules?” – The oracle mused as she retrieved back to the tree behind which she had first appeared, seemingly delighted in the confusion she had created. This was better than those Greek tragedies Euripides used to write so many centuries ago!

“Move now, argue later.” – Magnus said as he quickly realized what a ticking time bomb this information had been, it truly never was a good time to expose some secrets.

“Nothing to argue about.” – Maryse said with an icy tone surprising all of them while Jace looked at Izzy as if he had seen a ghost.

Magnus mumbled something and as soon as the portal in front of them opened, he ushered them back through it to the Institute and once their feet touched solid ground again, Maryse turned her heels and quickly went the other way.

Clary wasn’t sure with what she’d have to deal first, Jace’s obvious anger at finding out about her and Isabelle, Isabelle’s reaction to the news that her mother had a _parabatai_ and hid it from them for all their lives or Maryse’s death stare at everyone around her… it was difficult to choose between all these oh so intriguing scenarios.

“You have research to do and demons to hunt, I need to tell the Clave that we know where the sword is and tonight, we’ll go and get it from the manor.” – Maryse said and nobody dared contradict her at this moment, leaving Clary surprised she hadn’t started breathing fire yet. Maryse made her way to the portal in the library, leaving the team of younger Shadowhunters to themselves.

“I need some air, excuse me.” – Jace said as he made his way past Izzy and Clary not looking at either of them.

“Jace, we need…” – Alec had begun talking but when Jace turned around and her saw the look on his _parabatai_ face he knew it wasn’t a good moment to drag him into another mission. He was afraid this moment would come, Pythia’s words were a low blow and it made Izzy’s guilt even deeper as she saw her brother not being able to look at her even.

“ _I said_ I need some air, Alec!” – Jace almost yelled but turned around again and walked quickly out of the Institute.

Izzy made a move to follow her brother but Alec quickly grabbed her by the wrist and stopped her, shaking his head and halting her in her steps.

“That leaves you two are on demon duty!” – Alec said as he rushed after Jace.

“We screwed up big time.” – Izzy said, a knot forming in her throat.

“We did… but we’ll get passed this Izzy, you’ll see. Let him have some space for now.” – Clary said as she stepped closer and took Izzy’s hand in hers, intertwining their fingers. She could feel Izzy’s heartache as if her own heart was breaking but she could also feel the sense of relief that lurked deep down Isabelle’s soul. The truth was out now and there was nothing else left but to find a way to move on, no matter how much work and effort was needed, Izzy was determined to fix the rift between her and Jace. 

**_*Meanwhile outside the Institute*_ **

“Jace! Stop!” – Alec shouted as he ran up to Jace, who was stomping down the empty New York street.

“Leave me alone, Alec.” – The blonde said through gritted teeth.

“You know I can’t do that. I know you’re angry but…” – Alec didn’t even have the time to finish his sentence before Jace turned sharply around and almost made Alec clash into him.

"Angry? I'm not just angry, Alec! I'm furious that neither one of them told me! God only knows how long they've been going behind my back!" - Jace talked loudly but saw Alec suddenly looking guilty and looking anywhere but at him. He knew his _parabatai_ like the back of his hand, Alec was hiding something from him...

"Alec... Alec, what do you know?" - Jace asked slowly and saw Alec take a deep breath.

"You knew about them, didn't you? You knew and you said nothing!" - Jace was livid now.

"What. Do. You. Know?" - He asked again.

“Izzy had feelings for Clary before their _parabatai_ ceremony but I told her to go on with it anyway, I didn’t think her feelings were this strong Jace and I didn’t think Clary would respond her in kind. I thought… I thought she was in the same situation as I was all those years ago and I have never regretted going forth with our _parabatai_ ceremony. I thought things would eventually work out for them, I didn’t think Clary was in love with her, not until…” – Alec suddenly shut up and the fire behind Jace’s eyes flared up even more.

“Until, what, Alec?” – He yelled again.

“Tell me how long did you know that our little sister was charming the pants off my girlfriend?” – Jace asked.

"Be careful of how you speak of our sister Jace." - He said in a dangerously low voice.

"I'm starting to question if she was ever my sister, to begin with." - The blonde spat out and Alec reacted on instinct, hitting him hard with his fist.

“Do you know what hurts most, Alec? It was the fact that Izzy pretended to be the welcoming innocent friend every time Clary and I had a fight! Telling me to give her space, that everything would be ok and in the meantime, Clary and she were fooling around behind my back!" - Jace shouted at Alec but the moment he says the last sentence, something hardened in Alec's gaze.

“I found out about them on my birthday, Isabelle swore they hadn’t crossed the line before the kiss that night at the club and then on the next day I saw you walking out of Clary’s room and thought that you had talked about it and made up.” – Alec admitted and tried to de-escalate the argument. He could understand Jace’s feelings of betrayal, not feel them like Izzy and Clary seemed to but understand them just well enough.

He hated arguing with Jace, it felt like he was arguing with part of himself. Unnatural, forced, and twice as painful.

"I get that you're mad but Izzy has saved your life enough times to prove her love for you! She has always supported you even when you left to join Valentine, she didn't give up on you! She's been your sister since the day you walked into our home and if you let that bond be destroyed because she fell in love with the girl who had stopped loving you long before that, then you are even a bigger idiot than what I initially thought." - Alec shouted back at Jace's face, the truth was uncomfortable and painful to hear but it was necessary to say it out loud.

He was torn between keeping his sister’s secret and being truthful to his _parabatai_ , even though Alec knew how hard this all had been for Izzy, to keep that secret from everyone, he also knew that divided they stood no chance against Valentine, and sure Jace and Izzy would eventually patch things between them but there wasn't time for the whole healing thing right now. War was brewing and Alec had a distinct chill ran through him, they were being watched so he looked around and despite that he didn't see anything out of the ordinary, he wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

"Jace, I’ve sent Izzy and Clary to get rid of the _shota_ demons, let’s just… let’s go back and talk about all this at the Institute. I know you are still angry but after the attack, the Clave is watching our every step and if they find out about Izzy and Clary…” – Alec couldn’t even bring himself to think about this possibility. His loyalty to the Clave was clear but his loyalty to his family… was unmatched and as much as he was grumpy about it, Clary was family as well.

Jace had stood there silently thinking, he could feel somebody observing them but just like Alec he couldn’t see the horseman looking at them from the distance, while the Clave were still squabbling over petty disputes about who was right and who was wrong about Valentine’s return, Valentine himself had sent one of his best after the team. War was watching almost amused in the distance, his mere presence always brought out the worst in people and the Shadowhunters although part Nephilim, they still had human blood running through their veins.

**_* At the same time back inside the Institute*_ **

“I’m sorry to do this, ladies, but Alec’s right, you need to get going after those _shota_ demons.” – Magnus said breaking the silence that had fallen upon both girls, standing frozen in their places as they watched Alec run after Jace.

“You’re right.” – Izzy conceded to both Magnus and Clary and headed to the armory to get their weapons.

Armed with an additional set of knives strapped to their thighs, Clary and Izzy walked into the Library and saw Magnus standing beside the portal, spraying them with some sort of blue-ish liquid.

“Magnus this smells awful!” – Said Izzy as he moved to spray Clary as well.

“You are going to exit the portal right by the Naga lake, the _shota_ demons have an extremely sharp olfactory system and are very agile, they’d smell you miles before you manage to see them and coordinate their attack on you first.” – Magnus explained with a roll of his eyes and shoved a small glass bottle with some blue liquid in each of the pair’s hands.

“Use this in case you need a quick exit, it will stun the demons for a few seconds and give you a small breathing window. The _shota_ hunt by smell, what they lack in agility they make up in sharpened sense of sight and smell.” – Magnus repeated and started spraying up Clary’s hair and all the way down to her boots as well.

“I don’t even wear perfume.” – Clary said as she gagged from the strong smell of the liquid Magnus just sprayed on her.

“Don’t even get me started on _why_ you smell like Isabelle then.” – He said with an arched eyebrow and Isabelle huffed. She still had the habit of letting Clary wear her blouses from time to time, officially, because her fashion sense was amazing, unofficially, because she loved seeing the redhead in her clothes. That was at least part of the reason. 

“How am I suddenly the adult one here?” – Isabelle asked but before she could receive an answer she stepped through the portal and Clary’s eyes widened.

“Izzy?!” – She yelled after her and followed the other girl through the portal barely managing to hear Magnus shouting something about the night and the _shota_ demons.

**_*Somewhere in Taiwan*_ **

“Hey, I know you’re upset about Jace but please let’s focus on the mission now.” – Clary said as she caught up to Izzy with two quick strides and took her hand in hers.

“You’re right. Sorry, it’s just… I really didn’t want him to find out us now, certainly not like that either.” – She said, looking at her feet.

“I know Iz, me neither but look the secret is out now and we can only move forward from here. Besides, it seems you’re not the only one to fall for their _parabatai_.” – Clary said with a small smile.

“Ugh… don’t remind me. I didn’t even know that my mom had one to begin with!” – Isabelle said and threw her hands in the air. She had wished many times that things between her and Maryse had been different, she loved her and she knew that Maryse loved her as well but she always had a feeling that for some reason she didn’t like her as much as she liked Alec, Jace or Max.

“Izzy, I think we’re being followed.” – Clary said as they walked between the green bamboo trees, the sun was beginning to set lower and the forest was starting to look creepy but when Isabelle turned around, she didn’t see anything, just heard the rustle of the leaves around them. But perhaps these moldy statues around them just made it seem eerier than it actually was, perhaps their minds were playing tricks on them, perhaps it was just…

_Screech!_

A loud inhuman sound came behind them and when Izzy and Clary turned now they saw what had made it. There were at least a dozen lizard-like demons standing behind them, they looked exactly like the statues they had seen before only much more alive and bloodthirsty.

In a heartbeat, the demons attacked and Clary knew they were too many to take in one go, they needed to head back to the Institute and get back here with some backup.

“Izzy, we should get some back up for this!” – Clary said as she barely managed to avoid a claw directed at her face.

“Agreed, on the count of three we make a run for the portal.” – Isabelle said and kicked one of the lizards in the head while her whip coiled around the neck of another one.

“One, two…” – Clary started but a demon managed to land a hit on her stomach before she had the chance to finish.

Izzy quickly turned with her seraph blade in one hand and stuck it deep into the lizard’s chest.

“Three!” – Isabelle said and bolted to run to the left while Clary ran to the right.

“Shit!” – Both heard the other yell, they had no idea how to go back to the portal, so the next best option was to divide and conquer.

For a while, it wasn’t that heard keeping an eye on Clary but the bamboo trees were deceivingly thick and soon Isabelle couldn’t see Clary anymore, she only heard her scream and a small explosion after that as she managed to drive her blade into another lizard’s head. Four dead on her end, three more to go but she needed to find Clary so she took the liquid vial that Magnus had handed them and threw it at demon’s feet. The explosion that followed stunned them and gave Isabelle enough of a window to run after Clary. 

_Stupid trees_ , Isabelle thought as she raced throughout the bamboo maze, this forest seemed much less dense before. Sprinting through the trees, Izzy could feel her legs burning and her breathing becoming quicker and heavier, she had no idea how long she has been running for but her mind was still frantically looking for Clary, any sign of her _parabatai_ really. Whether it was traces of fiery red between the green bamboos or even a scream... something that would make her heart stop beating so wildly with worry. She shouldn't have let them get separated back at the river, now she had lost both Clary. The sun was quickly setting in the sky and the brightest stars in the sky had already started shining between the pinkish clouds. Izzy was running out of time...

The heavy footsteps behind her were beginning to catch up with her, she could practically feel the demon's claws on her back but she pushed past her fear and tried to quicken her footsteps. Suddenly, Izzy saw in the distance a small town, lit by numerous colorful lanterns, tapping her sense heightening rune with her stele she could even hear the rumble from the city's bazaar. Isabelle started walking as quickly as she could now, the adrenaline rush had given her a good advantage but there was no way her muscles could support anything more than a quick-paced walk right now. Just as she was walking between the bamboo trees, she noticed a tall circular structure among the forest, right in front of her, it was covered in green moss and so well camouflaged that she hoped her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. Still trying to get her breathing under control, Izzy was just about to walk past the building when a pair of strong hands grabbed her from behind and pulled her inside.

Isabelle barely had the time to take a deep breath before she felt herself being shoved against the wall, another body pushing into her to prevent her from kicking and a hand pressing against her lips, preventing her from shouting as well, a very gentle hand and Izzy was already looking at the person who was currently standing in front of her. Relief and joy ran immediately through Izzy's body when her eyes landed on the redhead that was currently glued to her front.

"Hi." - Clary said softly as she lowered her hand from Izzy's lips but still didn't move an inch otherwise.

"You're lucky I just ran a marathon." - Izzy said back with a small smile. Truth is, it had been a small miracle that Izzy didn't manage to punch Clary as she grabbed her from behind, not that Clary would be upset with her, they were being chased by demons after all.

Loud shuffling noises and quick footsteps came from somewhere near them, the bamboo trees making it impossible to pinpoint the exact location from where they were coming but just a heartbeat later a tall, lizard-like demon emerged from the trees and began sniffing the air before bolting up and sprinting off again. A couple more creatures followed him and Izzy took a sharp breath, making Clary's palm find its way back over her mouth immediately.

"Shhh!" - Clary leaned in and whispered in her ear. At this point, Isabelle's heart didn't know if it was raging behind her chest because of the demons chasing them had caught them or because she could feel every inch of Clary's body pressed against her and the subtle hints of magnolia perfume still clung to Clary's skin, making Isabelle's mind jump to completely inappropriate scenarios.

"It's a holy place, they can't enter here." - The redhead said and nodded toward the interior of the building. 

The inside looked much bigger than the outside somehow, the room itself was empty aside from the huge statue that was put right in the center and a bright orange sheet was thrown over its shoulder. An ivory-white Buddha sitting on a lotus flower, one hand on his left knee, and the right one was held up in front of his chest with his palm facing them, sweet jasmine aroma from the orange sheet filled their lungs as they stepped closer to the statue. 

The pair could barely see Buddha's face because of how massive the statue was but its white color seemed to illuminate softly the entire room, capturing the last remains of sunlight that had filled the place thanks to the complete lack of a rooftop.

"How did you find this place?" - Izzy asked, looking at Clary.

"Pure luck. When we got separated at the river, I tripped and fell. My ankle got twisted but luckily most of the demons had decided to chase after you. I remembered from the map Magnus showed us that there was a village nearby so I was trying to get there but the pain was getting unbearable and I got lost and stumbled across this little gem." - Clary explained, her gaze traveling from Isabelle's eyes to the interior around them.

Izzy could feel the other woman's heartbeat with the same intensity as her own and perhaps it wasn't caused by the approaching demons after all.

"How's your ankle now?" - Izzy asked with worry evident in her tone.

"Much better. I was just about to try and make a run for the village when I saw you approaching between the trees." - Clary explained again. There was a moment where neither of them spoke, it had been quite the adventure so far and Clary was still standing so close to her that Izzy only needed to tilt her head up and she'd feel the other girl's lips on her own again. Isabelle had been dreaming about kissing Clary almost every night since that time at the club and the rooftop after that and even when Pythia told them that the curse she was so fearing of didn’t exist, a small part of her mind still struggled believing her.

Extreme sadness overtook Izzy's heart and Clary felt it as well, she could almost see the train of thought inside Izzy's head, almost hear them it as if they were her own thoughts. With everything going on around them, they barely had the chance to get some sleep in between demon hunting and absolutely no time at all to talk about them so the tension that surrounded them now isn’t really surprising.

“I guess our debt to the Pythia is paid then.” – Izzy said as she moved to sit next to the Buddha’s feet.

“It was one hell of an expensive trade.” – Clary said and sat next to her, trying to sound nonchalant but Isabelle heard the sting.

“We’ve faced worse than _shota_ demons” – Izzy said trying to steer the conversation away from the topic she had been avoiding for so long. She had felt Clary’s jealousy and she knew Clary had felt her discomfort but some things needed to be said out loud because they were both at least part human after all.

“Yeah… the _shota…_ ” – Clary agreed, obviously not thinking about that when she said it.

“Clary.” – Izzy tried to get Clary’s attention but she could see the redhead wasn’t paying attention to her words.

“Hey… you know that kiss didn’t mean anything to me.” – Isabelle said as she put her fingers under Clary’s chin and urged her to look into her eyes.

“I know but it still hurt to see you kissing somebody else and trying to hide my anger because there is no excuse for it. I hate Pythia for making you do it.” – Clary said and Izzy couldn’t handle seeing her _parabatai_ like that, the redhead looked heartbroken and what’s worse was that she could feel it herself.

Moving slowly so that Clary had the chance to stop her if she wanted, which in all honest never even crossed Clary’s mind, she straddled her. Sitting on her lap, Izzy’s dark hair framed her face as she leaned forward touching her forehead to the other girls.

Clary wasn’t even sure when her hands had moved up Izzy’s sides and pulled her body closer to her, wanting to feel the comfort her presence always brought her.

“I am yours, Clary.” – Izzy said softly, looking into Clary’s eyes.

“You can’t say that, Iz.” – Clary said as her eyes reflected the desire in Izzy’s and shook her head from side to side with a small chuckle, her last attempt to concentrate and not overstep Isabelle’s boundaries. Of course, Clary knew that each of them was their own person, it was never a question of physical possession but hearing Izzy say that made Clary’s heart beat faster and a smile crept on her lips. Izzy was giving her her heart and Clary… she had handed hers to Izzy the moment their heads bumped in the infirmary almost a year ago when she was first introduced into this crazy and marvelous new world.

“…Let me _show_ you then...” – Izzy said in a husky low voice and brought their lips together. She was done being afraid of this thing between them, she was done obeying rules that made no sense imposed by people who thought they had any power over love. It was the single most powerful magic of all, what fool one must be to think they could control or limit it…

The familiar neroli scent tickled her nose, each intake of breath was more addictive than the last, each intake of breath more intoxicating than the last, each whimper and angelic melody, and each kiss… a means to stop time itself, to make it drag slowly around them, to freeze the moment into the continuum of forever.

Unlike their make out in the dark alley behind Pandemonium, this time Izzy’s hands moved slowly over Clary’s shoulders and dragged her jacket down with extreme care. Leaving it to fall on the ground, Clary copied her movements and they could both feel their _parabatai_ runes beginning to heat up, it was a rather comforting sensation in fact.

Clary’s lips soon found the exposed skin of Izzy’s neck and started mapping it lazily, placing a lick here and a bite there, she could feel Isabelle’s hands tangle in her hair and directing her lips along. This was their first time together but it felt as if it was choreography, they had practiced a thousand times before. Clary moved her fingertips under Izzy’s t-shirt, drawing idle patterns there until Izzy guided her hands with her own to help her get the material off, leaving her only in bra and pants.

Isabelle’s body was a smooth canvas decorated with runes, all of each Clary had seen before but the _parabatai_ rune was shining ever so softly against her skin as if it was covered with a layer of glitter.

Clary looked at the girl straddling her, she was the most beautiful person she had ever lied eyes upon, and now she could finally touch her as she had only dreamed before.

However, before Clary could move the straps of Izzy’s bra off her shoulders and undo it with her hand, Izzy pushed her back and tugged at Clary’s dark t-shirt, quickly moving it over her head and letting it fall somewhere beside them. She made it her mission to trace every inch of skin that had been covered before, leaving Clary to whimper under her each time she applied a little more pressure to her teasing bites. Worshipping each dip and curve of her body, tracing each rune and admire each small peck chaotically dotting her body…

Izzy’s brought her hand behind Clary’s back and just before she could undo her bra, their eyes met… Izzy’s dark eyes had become even darker with lust intertwined with love, her heart was beating fast and she couldn’t stop herself from smirking as she saw the small mark she had left on Clary’s left breast, just above the line of the bra.

Seeing Izzy smile always made Clary smile herself, but this satisfied smirk on her lips spurred Clary to lean forward again and this time she moved Isabelle to lie on the ground and switched their positions, straddling Isabelle’s thighs she unhooked her bra and helped Izzy with her own.

Their kisses were liquid fire, wherever their fingertips trailed and teased soon their lips and tongue followed, their movements slow and deliberate, testing and savoring all at once. Each moan was music to the other’s ears, each gasp a direction, each shiver an addiction.

It took them a couple of minutes, or hours, neither was sure, to get completely naked but soon Izzy could feel Clary’s fingers darting to the insides of her thighs, teasing the flesh there with slow circles until she almost reached the apex between her legs.

Izzy’s fingernails were dragging down and up her back, her biceps, even her lower back, making Clary moan as Izzy kissed her deeply.

Isabelle could swear she felt the stars above her collide as Clary’s fingers began rubbing on her clit and pushed two fingers between slippery folds making her moan louder than she had in her entire adult life and push her body even further to Clary’s if that were possible.

Suddenly, it dawned on her. The Sun itself could explode at that very moment, the earth beneath them could crumble and fall, even the oceans could evaporate in a single second and Izzy still wouldn't pull away from Clary's gentle ministrations and wanting lips. Nothing felt righter than this moment right now, not even the time she got her angelic rune bestowed upon her could come close to this.

**_*A couple of hours later*_ **

If upon stumbling into the temple Clary had thought that it was one of the most magical things, she had ever seen it was because she had never seen Isabelle naked with only a thin orange sheet draped around them, barely covering her naughty bits, as she always joked. Izzy was a true vision and at the risk of sounding absolutely blasphemous, Clary would swear that Izzy was heavenly perfect at that moment. Hair disheveled, lips plum and red, brown, warm eyes looking at her as she played with her fingers, her skin seemed to shine under the moonlight (thank every God and Goddess for full moon nights)... the black runes that marked both their bodies contrasted sharply with the rest of their pale complexions, only the _parabatai_ rune glistening and pulsed still hotter to the touch than the rest of them. Fireflies flew around in the darkness of the temple, danced around the stone walls and their lights flickered with intensity.

Lying sideways, Izzy's head was resting on Clary's thighs and vice versa, their fingers intertwined and holding securely each other now, it had been a couple of hours since they threw caution to the wind and finally gave in to what they were feeling. That fire burning inside them, uniting their desire and consuming their souls until there were only ashes of passion and droplets of sweat glistening on their bodies. Even now when the morning star would soon be the only one shining in the gradually brightening sky and the outside world seemed to be a moving picture of waking, walking shadows, Clary still wanted to remove the sheet between them and kiss every inch of Izzy’s neck and venture further south guided by the moans that escaped Izzy’s lips.

“I love you.” – Clary finally admitted it out loud as she gave Izzy’s hands a small tug.

“Whatever happens, I love you, Izzy.” – She added and watched Izzy blush and smile.

“I love you too Clary, whatever happens, I _love_ you too.” – Izzy repeated and saw Clary moving toward her again.

She didn’t need to say anything more for Izzy to understand her feelings or intentions, they had already said whatever they needed to say and did whatever the words were incapable of transmitting. A faint memory of War’s horse crying out flashed through Clary’s mind and Izzy gasped as she heard it herself, they knew what was coming, they could feel that the storm was approaching fast and they knew how uncertain their future was. That is what made this moment even more precious between them and in this rapidly fleeting moment, Clary wanted nothing more than to kiss Izzy again and hear her moans as she touched her so that’s what she did before the outside world caught up with them again.

Once the sun was high in the sky and they couldn’t delay any more the beginning of the day, Clary and Izzy quickly began dressing, keeping the dopey smiles and kisses to a minimum but still, they added a couple of extra minutes to their usual routines. 

Following the burned footprints that the demons had left last night, Clary and Isabelle quickly stumbled onto the remaining pack, not even a full mile from the temple where they were last night. The _shota_ demons were night demons which meant that just like most of the low-level demons they hunted, feed, and basically existed only when the sun was not in the sky.

“We should probably wait to hear Magnus’ warning about the demons until the end before we run off to go and hunt them next time.” – Clary laughed as she saw in front of them five lizard-like statues.

“Are you complaining about getting to spend the night in the temple?” – Izzy asked, teasing Clary with a smirk as they walked between the statues and used their seraph blades to cut the head off of each statue and watch it disintegrate to ash at their feet.

“About sleeping on the uncomfortable ground? Definitely! About getting to have you in my arms? Never.” – Clary said back with a wink. Two could play that game.

“Good thing we didn’t sleep then.” – Izzy said with a wink and Clary blushed and shook her head, she was technically right and damn it felt good to see Izzy’s usual playful self even for a little while.

“Let’s go back to the Institute, we need a shower.” – The redhead said as she took Izzy’s hand and headed back to the portal near the lake. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a small heads up guys, I'm working on the final chapter but it's a bit too complex to write and even longer than this one so it will take me two weeks to finish it, so be patient and let me know what you think so far! I'm eager to know your opinions!


	5. Per aspera ...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part I of chapter 5 is finally out!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello wonderful, patient readers! I'm so glad to have the opportunity to finally update this. Now I should say, this is not the long chapter I promised you guys but it became too much and too complicated to finish at once so I'm giving you a small taste of what's to come. 
> 
> I didn't plan on making this final chapter so long but the story seemed to be writing itself but this is a small thank you for your patience. I am going to post part B of Chapter 5 (that will technically count as chapter 6 but it's really just one divided into two). 
> 
> As I mentioned, I am also working on a collab piece with another amazing writer (for another fandom though) and it has taken me a while but now I have 95% of this fic planned and written, I need you to be just a little bit more patient. 
> 
> Thank you for each and every kudos and comment, however you decide to show your support it counts, a lot! 
> 
> Hope everyone is doing well in these crazy times!

“Under the roses she said?! Dig under the roses…” – Jace was mocking frustrated.

“Which bloody roses she did not say!” – He finished as he threw another shovel of dirt behind him, not caring where it landed.

“Ah!” – Alec yelped as another thorn embedded into his arm. They had been digging up rose bushes for over two hours now, he was partially sorry they didn’t get the demon hunt instead of Izzy and Clary but understood why Jace needed some space from them and he couldn’t just leave his _parabatai_ alone in such a moment.

“Why are there so many roses? We haven’t even been here in years!” – Alec said with desperation, they hadn’t even managed to get to the middle of the yard yet!

“Roses are beautiful but if left unsupervised they take up all the space.” – Magnus offered his expert gardener opinion as he sat on the ground near them (turned out having a hobby was paying out pretty well, no matter that time when he almost created a carnivorous plant as big as himself), meditating with an empty martini glass by his side. 

“You still can’t pick up anything? I mean how do we even know that Pythia didn’t lie to us? She could’ve just had her fun and that’s that.” – Jace said as he pushed his shovel into the ground and left it standing up as he sat down and took the water bottle. They could use a small break and with the way the sun was shining in the sky their will to dig wasn’t the strongest either.

“She told us the truth. Oracles can’t lie, they can save on some details but they can’t lie.” – Magnus said.

“You could help us with the digging you know?” – Alec said as he sat down beside the two men as well.

“We only have two shovels and you look so good with it and no t-shirt on darling.” – Magnus said and leaned in for a kiss. Alec’s dopey smile soon disappeared when Magnu’s lips found his.

“Hey, concentrate please!” – Jace beside them, when what was supposed to be a quick sweet kiss turned into a more… appreciative exploration.

Alec and Magnus pulled apart with a small giggle, they were just like teenagers in love sometimes, it was hard to believe that one of the best Shadowhunters and the high warlock of Brooklyn were capable of giggling and blushing.

“Look, it’s already been a while since we started digging and the sun is starting to burn me, let’s just go back to the Institute, grab something to eat and we’ll get back after.” – Alec said as he saw how exhausted Jace looked, even though he’d never admit it himself.

The thought of returning to the Institute and seeing Clary and Izzy again made Jace want to grab that shovel once more and keep digging but it was already a long enough morning and he had to stop running away from the problem eventually.

“Deal.” – He finally said and took the hand that Alec offered him to get up from the ground.

When they got back to the Institute, the first thing they did was raid the kitchen, they hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast and whatever could be fashioned into some sort of an impromptu early lunch was mixed together.

Just as Magnus was eating the last of his sandwich, the portal of the Institute opened and a pair of heels clacked rhythmically on the tiles leading to where they were.

“I need a shower and find some sunscreen so I’ll see you guys later.” - Jace said and ate in one bite what was left on his plate and went directly to his room for a shower, he’d talk with Izzy and Clary later, now his priority was to get away from the kitchen also before Alec got more carried away with his kisses with Magnus, there were just some things that one didn’t wish to know about his brother or sister. 

“I don’t suppose you made us something to eat as well?” – Izzy said as she entered first, subtly letting go of Clary’s hand in case Jace was around. She hated having to do that but it was best to tone down the couple-y behavior around him, for now at least.

“Sorry sis, we’ve been digging all morning, I honestly can’t even count all the scratches we got from the thrones.” – Alec said and showed the girls both his arms that were indeed riddled with thin red lines.

“You got to spent the entire morning tanning in the garden, that’s not exactly the worst fieldwork, in fact, it sounds quite pleasant.” – Clary teased Alec, she loved seeing him rolling his eyes in annoyance.

“Seems like you’ve had a pretty pleasant morning yourself, biscuit.” – Magnus winked and looked at the crook of Clary’s neck, knowing perfectly well that the redhead knew what stood there.

To be honest, the hickey that Isabelle had placed there was a few centimeters lower than what was visible from the cleavage of her shirt but Magnus was a good gambler, he knew how to bluff, and apparently judging by Clary’s blushing, she hadn’t learned how to call him bluff yet.

“Well, I think we should go find you some sunscreen too, as much as I like your tan, I do not think red is your color Alexander.” – Magnus said and stood up, leading Alec out of the kitchen.

“We’re going back to the manor in two hours!” – He managed to say before Magnus got him too far away.

“They’re married and he still calls him _Alexander_?” – Clary asked as she opened the fridge and searched for something to eat as well.

“Hmm I think Alec vetoed _honeybee_ after the last game night but to each their own.” – Isabelle shrugged her shoulders and plopped on one of the chairs, watching her parabatai make them Nutella sandwiches. Sometimes the redhead had the eating habits of a five-year-old left alone in a candy store but Izzy had to admit, she loved that in her.

“Perhaps, I should start calling you Clarissa if you like full names so much?” – Izzy teased her.

“Don’t you dare!” – Clary feigned horror and threw a grape at Izzy, somehow missing her target completely.

It took them a while to actually eat something and get a very needed shower but both managed to get ready in time and meet the boys at the portal. They had even managed to find two more shovels.

“Alright, everyone ready?” – Magnus asked as the silence was becoming too heavy and Jace’s intense staring at the floor was starting to worry him that he might blast a hole in it any second now.

“Let’s go, we still have a lot of garden land to dig.” – Alec rolled his eyes again, it was like he was back in time when teenage Izzy wouldn’t talk to Jace because he had punched her first boyfriend for kissing her best friend at the time. Turned out his little sister wasn’t upset with Jace because she liked that other douche but because she had been the one wanting to beat up that lying excuse of a Shadowhunter.

The same moment that Jace was getting ready to enter the portal, a body collided with him. A muddy, bloody, battered body of a downworlder with pointy ears, long hair, and a leaf tattoo on the left side of his face flew through the portal and landed on top of the blonde.

“Meliorn!” – Izzy gasped as she moved to check on the Seelie. A little, brief pang of jealousy washed over Clary but she knew Izzy’s history with Meliorn, but she had her own history, they both did and they both knew it, they also knew the love each felt for the other now, so she quickly shook the invasive feeling off.

“What happened?” – She asked as she helped him to get back on his feet.

“What are you doing here?” – Jace asked, a little discontent that he was the one that the Seelie fell on.

“There’s an attack… They are being slaughtered!” – Meliorn started talking but his words were too quick to decipher and Alec had to stop him.

“Take a breath and repeat again.”

“Valentine has attacked the council! He has raised the armies of hell and he sacked the entire town!” – Meliorn began again.

“There was a council meeting between the Shadowhunter elders and the downworlders, they killed my queen and they are killing everyone that refuses to join them!”- He said and tears began falling from his eyes.

“Maryse told me to come and get you. We can use your help.” – The Seelie added and the second he used their mother’s name, Isabelle knew that thing had gone from _serious_ to _desperate_.

“Jace, Magnus, and I will go with you. Clary and Izzy, we need you to keep digging for whatever is under those damn roses.” – Alec said and Izzy’s objection was quick to follow.

“We’re coming with you!”

“We cannot do both things! Valentine is already gathering allies, he’s growing stronger, we need something that can beat him and whatever is lying in our backyard is our only hope! We are already losing this battle, let’s at least try and have a chance at winning the war.” – Alec added that last part with a quieter voice. It wasn’t something that could bring Meliorn much reassurance now but they really needed to go.

“Fine, fine. Be careful, all of you.” – Izzy finally relented and looked at Jace who was finally looking at her but stepped through the portal with Meliorn in tow. At least he looked at her, _small steps_ – she reminded herself.

***Four hours later in the Lightwood mansion***

The sun was already starting to set and there was still no word from the boys, Izzy and Clary had been digging for a while but they still had nothing.

“This is pointless!” – Isabelle threw her hands in the air and the shovel dropped to the ground with a thud.

“This garden is huge…” – Clary said knowing that Izzy wasn’t mad about that but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to talk about it either.

“We should’ve gone with them.” – Izzy said shaking her head.

“Iz, we have to find that weapon. You know I’d never admit it, but Alec was right. They will be okay.” – Clary finally said what had been on her mind from the moment she heard her parabatai throw her shovel on the ground.

“You are right, I just… I’m really worried about them Clary.” – Izzy admitted.

“I know, me too.” – Clary said and pulled the girl in front of her for a hug. The last sun rays were fading away and the first stars in the sky were beginning to shine.

“It is a beautiful garden.” – The redhead granted as the smell of roses surrounded them. Sweet, tantalizing, almost like the shampoo her mom used to use, Clary mused as her eyes moved around them. Red petals bloomed in what seemed to be an endless sea of roses until Clary’s eyesight fell upon the small fountain on the other side of the garden and a single bush of white roses right next to it.

_White… white petals… white…_

“That’s it…” – Clary murmured under her nose.

“What?” – The older (by a couple of months, mind you) Shadowhunter asked surprised.

“That’s it! Izzy, I know where to dig!” – Clary beamed excited and dragged Izzy to the white roses.

“Clary, are you sure…?” – She asked, now confused.

“I don’t know how to explain it but I’m sure that whatever we’re looking for, it’s buried right here.” – The redhead said resolute and the other girl wasn’t about to second guess her parabatai even more.

Jabbing the tip of the blade into the soil, Clary could feel goosebumps covering her hands and run up to her neck, there was something there she could feel it.

Digging for an additional half an hour Izzy was just about ready to call it a day and try to get Clary to go back to the Institute in case the boys had returned when she gripped the handle for one last dig when she pushed firmly on the step of the shovel and _THUD… THUD_

“You found it!” – Clary said excited, this didn’t sound like they had hit another stone.

“Let’s see how we can get this thing out.” – Izzy moved quickly to the side letting Clary stand closer to her and help her to dig out what seemed to be a box with something underneath it. Something long and metal… a sword!

_BUZZZ … BUZZZ…_

Clary’s phone vibrated with a message from Magnus.

“The boys are safe!” – She said quickly as she read the text.

“Are they back at the Institute?” – Izzy asked worried but finally being able to breathe a lot easier than before. Her lungs expanding fully with oxygen, unconstricted, she had severely underestimated how good that felt before.

“They are back at Magnus’, he says they need to get some things from there and will come back to the Institute after. Your mom is with them too, she’s okay.” – Clary said and saw Izzy’s lip curl in a small smile, she was glad to know that Maryse was alive, despite their differences, she was still her mother.

“Let’s head back and wait for them then.” – Izzy suggested and took Clary’s hand, leading her through the portal.

It seemed that the oracle was right indeed but as usual per the oracles, they loved omitting parts of their prophecies, it was in their nature and they enjoyed seeing the mortals frustrated, it seemed it made for some quality entertainment to pass the forever. Right above the hilt of the sword, had stood a box, a small rectangle box that was made out of African blackwood and delicate silver vine-like leaves intertwined around it, sealing it securely. In the upper left corner, there were two small leaves, each holding a carving of a family crest inside them, a flame and angel wings stood proudly side by side but neither of the girls noticed the detail. The box much like the sword itself seemed untarnished by the soil as if they had been buried only yesterday and not a couple of decades ago, almost as long as they had left Alicante.

“We found Glorious! We found it!” – Clary smiled widely, she was excited when they threw the last handful of dirt outside of the whole and took out the sword and the box.

Holding the sword finally in her hand, the metal blade began shining lightly, enough to disturb the darkness of the upcoming night and make Clary feel warm inside like her hand had been shaped to hold its hilt while Isabelle was examining the box.

“Given our families’ histories I’m not even sure I want to open it.” – Izzy half-joked.

“I’m with you on that, unfortunately, I don’t think we have much of a choice, especially if it would help us defeating Valentine.” – Clary said and Izzy couldn’t disagree with that logic.

Taking Glorious in her hand now and handing the wooden box to Clary, both girls made their way back to the portal and then back to Izzy’s room at the Institute, yet to be honest Clary hadn’t slept in her own bed for weeks now, officially it was still just Izzy’s room though.

“How are we supposed to open this thing? It’s impossible.” – Clary said as she fumbled with the box but each time she tugged or pushed at it, tried to open it or shook it in annoyance the silver vines around it shone brightly and refused to budge. The redhead had tried everything short of stomping on the box in the last half an hour and yet it was still firmly shut. Even trying to pry the vines with a knife hadn’t worked and now that Isabelle was stepping out of the shower with only a white towel wrapped around her figure, Clary’s frustration quickly turned into something else. Izzy’s shoulders still had a couple water drops on them from the ends of her damp hair and Clary wanted to kiss every single drop of water off her skin. It was enough of a distraction to have Izzy around all the time, even if she was fully dressed, having Izzy around in just a towel was… pure torture. This was not the moment for her mind to begin daydreaming again.

_“Focus Fray, she’s changed in front of you so many times before… stop staring at her! Damn you’re worse than a frat boy with a crush!”_ \- Clary’s mind screamed at her, not paying attention to her _parabatai_ mark that got hotter and Izzy suddenly turned to look at her surprised.

“I don’t mind you, looking.” – Izzy chuckled with a teasing smile but the blush that was appearing on her cheeks betrayed her sudden shyness.

“We should seriously do some research on this telepathy thing.” – Clary groaned in her hands as she realized what had happened. They were still in that awkward spot where they didn’t talk about what had happened at the temple but were trying to be careful with their touches around Jace, it was one thing to let him and Alec, and Magnus suspect the shift in their relationship and completely another to let everyone know. Though Clary had a feeling nobody would be shocked about it but now wasn’t the time for that… not yet at least.

Izzy quickly changed into her usual nightwear that consisted of mismatched shorts and an old t-shirt and sat beside Clary, taking the box from her hands and examining it.

After a couple of moments of twirling with the small wooden crate, Izzy’s eyes widened and she let a small gasp escape her lips, how could they not see it earlier?

“What is it?” – Clay asked as she saw Isabelle’s reaction.

“I know that face, you’ve figured it out!” – The redhead said excitedly.

“I don’t know if I’ve figured it out but I certainly have an idea. God, I’m an idiot, I should’ve thought about that before!” – Izzy said and moved to the table near the window where she had left her stele and most of her weapons earlier when they got back from Alicante.

“Clary, where is your stele?” – She asked as she took one of the daggers as well and returned to the bed.

“Right here.” – The younger Shadowhunter said as she took the steely from her bedside table.

“Pass me mine as well, please.” – Izzy added.

Sitting down facing Clary, Izzy let the box sit between them and stretched one hand, indicating to Clary to give her hers while she held one of her daggers with her other hand. Of course, it would involve blood, why bind something with magic and just leave it be if you can also add what appeared to be a blood seal in the mix as well?

Izzy held the dagger’s tip to Clary’s fingertip and pressed, making a small drop of warm red blood soon appeared on the finger, letting go of Clary’s hands, she quickly poked at her own finger and an identical drop of blood appeared there as well.

Isabelle took her stele and dipped its tip to the blood on her finger, nodding to Clary to copy her movement, the moment that the blood made contact with the adamas at end of the stele, it began shining brightly in their hands and they could feel a surge of power run through them, even their _parabatai_ mark had begun to heat up just like when they used their telepathy link.

Moving the tips of the glowing steles to the lid of the box and letting them touch it at the same time made the vines around it shine like the steles and slowly began unwrapping around the box until it was nothing left to keep it closed anymore. Once the vines had retreated to the corners of the box, the steles stopped glowing and the magic that they could feel running through them disappeared, just as suddenly as it had appeared.

“How did you know about that?” – Clary asked dazed from what had just happened.

“I um… I read it once in one of the books in my mom’s office back in Idris. She never let me touch the stuff on her desk and my curiosity became too much one day. I didn’t understand why she had kept that particular book in a locked drawer but to be honest, it’s not the only thing I didn’t understand about her so when I read the book, I just discarded it as something unimportant and thought she knew I wouldn’t leave it alone so she just put some random old book there for me to find and get bored.” – Izzy explained but opening the lid of the box quickly stole away her ability to continue speaking.

Inside the box laid four old polaroid pictures, all facing down but the handwriting on their backs was the thing that caught Clary and Izzy’s attention immediately, of course, that would happen when you see your name written down on a photo that had been buried in a box in the backyard of the childhood home of your parabatai on the back of an old photo. Izzy took the rest of the photos in her hands and turned them around, her mouth gaping at what she saw.

Isabelle was too stunned to talk, the shock on her face was a strange mix between _Holly fuck!_ and _You’ve got to be kidding me!_

"Wow..." - Clary's voice finally broke the silence as she peeked behind Izzy’s shoulder, the confusion leaving both girls looking dumbfounded at the polaroids in their hands.

"Your mom has some _serious_ explaining to do." - The redhead said again and Izzy nodded in agreement, her eyes never leaving the photo, only her head nodded slowly.

_TBC..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh Maryse, Maryse... what are you hiding now...? 
> 
> (Do you guys have any theories?)


	6. Ad Astra

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys! It's finally here! The last chapter (or technically PART II of Chapter 5) is finally up and like I promised it's quite long. It took me a while to write it but I am pretty happy with the result. Here is some info just to keep in mind guys: 
> 
> War - Rides the red horse  
> Pestilence - Rides the white horse  
> Famine - Rides the black horse  
> Death - Rides the pale horse (Valentine has yet to summon this one)
> 
> Thank you all for your patience and most importantly for your support! I can't wait to see what you think of this story! Each comment and kudos is greatly appreciated. Enjoy! 
> 
> P.S The war scenes might be a bit too graphic for some readers.

The first picture of the pile laid on top of Isabelle's bed and the two girls were looking at it from a distance as if it could burn them if they stared for too long. The polaroid showed a beautiful spot somewhere in the forest with three female figures in the center.

The woman in the middle of the picture was holding two small, chubby little girls in her arms. Both babies had long hair, but one was raven black and the other was as red as the sunset. Their smiles wide, exposing teeny white teeth, their little dresses were stained with streaks of mud and grass but you could almost hear their happy giggles even now in the deafening silence of the room. The little redhead was reaching toward the other baby girl with one arm while the other was contently wrapped around the older woman's neck. To any other person, under any other circumstance it would seem like a perfectly normal family photo, had it not been for the woman in said photo Maryse Lightwood, or at least a 20 years younger version of Maryse Lightwood. She was wearing a matching flower crown like the two babies had on their heads and Isabelle couldn't believe her eyes. She'd never seen her mother smile like that, so wide, so true… so relaxed... to be honest, she'd spent most of her childhood thinking her mother was simply allergic to smiling.

"But how can this be? How come I don't remember any of it even after most of my memories have returned?" - Clary asked, pacing around the room.

"Me neither, but there has to be someone that does. I mean someone did take that picture." - Isabelle spoke as she was frozen on her spot on the bed.

"We have to talk to Maryse, Izzy. I know it's not going to be easy for you but..." - Clary began talking but Isabelle cut her short.

"But we need answers and we don't have the time to beat around the bush. I just… don't like this Clary..." - Izzy said and the redhead could see the worry on her face.

Moving the box and its contents to the side, Clary moved closer to Izzy and leaned in to hug her.

"I can't believe we've known each other before that night in Pandemonium… I mean with all the secrets our families have kept... I don't know why I'm still surprised each time another thing surfaces. We'll get to the bottom of this, Izzy… together." - Clary spoke and hugged Isabelle closer still. Usually, it was the raven-haired Shadowhunter's role to console the other but this time, a hug from Clary seemed to be exactly the thing her _parabatai_ needed before continuing to look through the rest of the photos.

There were three more pictures in the box, three more fading polaroids that, unknowingly to them, held Maryse's most precious memories. Just under the first one with the three girls, there was a slightly tilted picture of three small boys, all-around six years old. They were chasing each other with what seemed like wooden swords and in the background Maryse was sitting with the two little girls from before, helping the redhead girl to make the poppy flower crown that the other baby girl was wearing in the first picture. Younger versions of Alec and Jace were engaged in what seemed to be a feral combat with a red-headed boy that was holding his hands up, making grimaces with his face, imitating either a very scary demon or a very constipated small elephant. 

The third picture was of the five children together, the boys carefully playing with young Clary and Izzy on a sea of grass. Their young faces filled with happiness and pride from being the older ones, even Alec wasn’t hiding his smile with a couple of teeth missing. Clary was sitting between him and Jonathan, both were helping her color in her book, each holding a pair of crayons in their hands while Jace seemed to be teaching Izzy how to put her feet in a fighting stance, letting the toddler use his blonde head for support. They had all known each other back then… it almost seemed like they knew each other in another life altogether.

Tears were falling from both Clary and Izzy's eyes now, hot, angry tears from having those memories ripped away from them, from cutting forcefully that bond. Even though the real memories were very hazy in their minds now, the polaroids stirred something in their hearts and it was not easy to deal with so many emotions, especially when they were reflected in the other and augmented from their _parabatai_ bond. Love and hate spiraled together into something impossible to determine, heavy loss and melancholy tainted their thoughts, even a sliver of joy found its way in that tornado of emotions somehow. 

"The boys are going to flip when they find out." - Izzy said after a couple of minutes of heavy silence and swiped to clear the water streaks from her cheeks as they slowly pulled away from each other.

"You mean Alec will have a heart attack when he finds out he actually liked me once upon a time." - Clary tried to lighten up the moment and Izzy giggled lightly.

"You know he does like you now, right? I mean, I know Alec is not the most expressive of types but he trusts you now and has your back just as much as he has mine." - Izzy spoke gently. And it was true, Alec's attitude toward her had improved a lot, they patrolled together and even fought in the war together but sometimes she could swear he still stood one step further away from her than necessary when they'd gather for game nights.

"I know." - Clary said with a small smile, letting Izzy know that she treasured the newfound friendship between her and her brother.

"At this point, I'm afraid to even look at the fourth picture." - Clary spoke again as the last photograph was standing in the box, the only one that was face down and only a lonely writing occupied its back.

_“1995”_

"Together." - Isabelle said and grabbed lightly Clary's hand. Taking a deep breath, Clary took the polaroid with her right hand, the left one was still holding Izzy's securely.

And now as they flipped it half the mystery was solved... the younger faces of Maryse and Jocelyn were staring at each other. Jocelyn's hand on Maryse's cheek and she was leaning into the touch, softly kissing her palm. Maryse was still wearing the flower crown from before so it must have been taken in the same day as the rest. Part of the hand with which Maryse was holding the camera was visible on the polaroid, but both women seemed so lost in each other's eyes that it made both girls blush.

"So, your mom... and my mom...?" - Isabelle tried to talk but her mind was too busy thinking about all this.

"Yep... it would seem so..." - Clary said equally dumbfounded.

Suddenly a very disturbing and very awful thought crossed Izzy's mind and for a fraction of the second, she felt sorry for Jace.

"By the Angel, please don't tell me we are related somehow!" - Isabelle almost shrieked in horror and Clary busted out laughing.

"Oh my God..." - Izzy's headache was becoming stronger and stronger by the minute but Clary seemed to be in the middle of a laughing fit.

"Well... you did say once that you always wanted a sister." - Clary managed to say between laughs and the irony of the situation turned out to be too much for Isabelle to handle and she started laughing as well. It wasn't until good ten minutes later that they calmed down enough to take a deep breath and speak. That would've been one serious curse for Clary to keep falling for her supposed brother or sister.

"Breathe, Iz. I don't think we're related Izzy. My mom swore to me that I didn't have any other siblings, apart from Jonathan. And we all know how that whole confusion with Jace went in the first place." - Clary said as she finally regained her normal breathing, wincing a bit at the memory in her mind. There was a time when Jace had drilled into his mind that Clary was his sister and his guilt had consumed him, made it easier for Valentine to manipulate him, to make him his plaything. It wasn't even important if it were true or not, if you spent so much time telling yourself that something was true it would eventually start feeling like one.

There was still one more thing left on the bottom of the box and for a moment Clary got reminded of Pandora’s myth, the last thing left in the box… hope. With a shaky hand Clary took the small note with burned edges and a dark spot near the center and read the words out loud:

_“My darling Maryse,_

_I have no words to apologize enough for what I have done tonight, my clothes still reek of smoke and my hands and face are covered in suds but I had to do it… you don’t deserve the pain my decision will bring you and I don’t deserve your forgiveness so I will not ask it. I have to take Clary away from Valentine, he can’t have her too or I’m afraid she’ll follow the same fate as our darling boy Jonathan. I love you with all my heart, I only wish I had the courage to follow my heart earlier, perhaps all this heartache could’ve been avoided from the start… Take care of Izzy and Alec, they are strong little fighters. I’m leaving you the only thing I know for sure can kill Valentine and I pray that one day you succeed where I failed.  
With all my love,_

_Jocelyn”_

By the time Clary managed to read the last sentence her eyes were filled with tears again and Isabelle was in the same state as her. How could neither of their moms mention this?

“We really do become like our moms as we grow older.” – Izzy said laughing again between the tears, she could feel the heartbreak that Jocelyn must have felt when she had written that note.

“Right down to continuing where they left off it seems.” – Clary joked as well. Sometimes, humor or an attempt at it was the only way for people to keep it together in situations where falling apart wasn’t an option, and right before the biggest war of their lives, falling apart was a sure death sentence.

Humor was the only thing that could defuse the tension from this situation, they weren’t supposed to know this, these words weren’t addressed to them and they didn’t have permission to see these photos, it felt like they had uncovered a secret that wasn’t even theirs to begin with, and in a sense… they had done exactly that.

“Come on, we should get ready and go meet the boys.” – Clary said and nudged Izzy to accompany her to the bathroom, the ice water that washed over their faces was refreshing enough and erased all the traces from the previous tears. 

“Why do we have to go back to Idris? Wouldn’t it be easier if they came here directly?” – Izzy asked suddenly, thinking of her brothers.

“Magnus said to wait for them at the manor, maybe there’s something he wants to show us there.” – Clary said wondering the same thing. 

The girls were the first to arrive at the Lightwood manor again, this time the moon was peaking in the skies and bathed the garden in gentle silver light.

“I can’t believe I’ve been here before.” – Clary said and felt Izzy’s fingers intertwine with hers, glad that she had grabbed the box with her left hand.

“At this point, I’m glad you’re here now.” – Izzy’s voice sounded soft.

“Are you sure you want to tell the boys now? I mean, I know that we’ll have to tell them but maybe we could do it when we’ve taken care of Valentine?” – The redhead asked hesitantly.

“Clary, I don’t want to keep more secrets from them, we already tried that once remember? Jace still barely looks at me.” – Isabelle said with a sad voice.

“Yeah, you’re right. I’m sorry by the way, I don’t think I ever told you that. I didn’t want our relationship to cost you the one with your brother. I just…” – Clary started but Isabelle cut her off.

“I was the one that kissed my brother’s girlfriend, so if we’re going down that road, I’d be the one that’s more to blame for all this mess.” – Izzy admitted.

“Hey, this is on both of us but even if Jace never forgives me, you’re his sister Iz. I’m sure he loves you much more than he ever loved me so we’ll just give him time, all the time he needs.” – Clary smiled softly at her parabatai.

“I’m still a bad sister though, I mean yes, I feel bad for hurting him like that but I’d be lying if I said that I wouldn’t do it all over again. Well, maybe I wouldn’t wait so long this time around.” – Isabelle giggled.

“You’re human Iz, we’re not perfect and for the record, that first kiss was quite breath-taking.” – Clary teased her.

“I’m sure I can do better though.” – Izzy teased her back as she pulled Clary closer to her until their lips met again, not realizing that a portal had opened behind them.

“Ahem…” – Alec cleared his throat loudly.

Both girls quickly jumped away from each other, blushing furiously when Clary remembered that her free hand had crept up to Isabelle’s chest but the shock of catching them mid-kiss quickly evaporated as Magnus and Jace stepped through the portal dragging a body with a hood over the head between them.

“We… need to talk.” – Alec said and walked into the manor,

Before the portal closed, Maryse Lightwood also stepped through it and eyed the girls coldly before following Alec into the tea room of the manor.

By the time, Clary and Izzy made their way to the room, the fireplace was already lit and the soft amber light bathed the faces of the people that had gathered there, all but one.

“What happened? Are you guys alright? Where’s Meliorn?” – Izzy asked concerned, looking at the boys standing in front of her.

“We are fine, some of us got a few cuts and bruises…” – Alec said looking at Jace disapprovingly and continued talking.

“But we’re okay now, even Meliorn is fine, Rafael agreed to take him until he’s recovered. Valentine attacked Samara, the city where the downworlders council was meeting. The warlock helping him managed to sneak in the city in disguise and opened a portal right when the summit had begun, his army slaughtered everyone on sight. Some of the seelies, like Meliorn, managed to escape and bring back help with them, there were even Shadowhunters from the Uruba Institute.” – Alec was still in awe with the skill these Shadowhunters had with their fighting staffs.

“Unfortunately, there was a great number of victims by the time we went there and the few remaining downworlders there had pledged their allegiance to Valentine.” – Maryse spoke up.

“The council along with the Seelie queen are dead, most of our own kind are gone too.” – She added.

“And who’s that?” – Clary asked as she nodded to the still hooded figure in the room.

“We managed to capture one of Valentine’s army.” – Jace said lifting the black hood making Clary gasp audibly.

“Jonathan!” – She stepped quickly up to her brother that seemed to be unconscious. Beaten and barren with a bloody nose but still breathing.

“Did you have to torture him?” – Clary asked with gritted teeth.

“That’s not from us Clary.” – Maryse said, her voice sounded almost sad.

“He found me in the battle and basically surrendered on his own.” Alec said and Magnus stepped beside him, mumbling a quick spell as his eyes flashed yellow.

“Clary? Clary!” – Jonathan woke up startled, he tried jumping on his feet but he felt too drowsy when he moved.

“He’s feeling dizzy because of the demon towers in the city.” – Magnus explained.

“We couldn’t risk taking him to the Institute before knowing his intentions, for all we know this might be a trick and he can be a spy for Valentine so he can finish the job he started at Samara.” – Jace said defensively.

“He needs your blood Clary.” – Jonathan mumbled.

“Valentine needs your blood to raise the fourth horseman. Your blood spilled in the lake Lyn on a moonless night. He plans on bringing Death and destroying Idris before going after the mundane world, he wants to make sure there are no Shadowhunters left to oppose him when he raises in power, and by attacking Samara he wanted to send a message to the downworlders as well. You can’t let him succeed Clary. You have to stop him and I want to help you.” – Jonathan said and was now fighting exhaustion to stay awake.

“Do we trust him?” – Alec asked Clary, dismissing the look Jace was giving him.

“He already saved me once, I trust him.” – Clary said as she looked at her brother now unconscious and slumped on the chair. 

“Then we need to plan accordingly. Please tell us you’ve managed to find the sword?” – Alec asked hesitantly.

“We did.” – Clary quickly said and looked at Isabelle.

“What? Is it broken?” – Jace asked impatiently when he saw the exchange.

“No, nothing like that. The sword is fine but there’s something we need to talk to you about.” - Izzy said reluctantly looking at Maryse now and then at Jace and Alec.

“Well, we need to get Jonathan back to the Institute so I can treat him, he’s weak and if he won’t be of much help to us like this.” – Magnus said, not wanting to get in the middle of this family drama, Alec would tell him later if he decided he needed to talk about it.

Clary moved toward Maryse and handed her the opened box, watching as Maryse’s face turned so pale it was almost like she had just seen a ghost.

Alec gave Magnus a quick peck on the lips and saw him opening a portal to the Institute, passing through with a levitating Jonathan behind him.

Just as the portal closed, a sob escaped Maryse’s lips and now Jace was looking at Alec worried, there weren’t many things that could make Maryse Lightwood cry. The room began spinning around her and she stumbled a little before taking a seat and letting the wooden box fall open to the ground, dispersing the polaroid photos on the carpet.

“What the hell is going on?” – Jace said as he picked up one of the photographs and saw himself as a child, Alec, Izzy, and another two familiar faces.

“Mom… what is all this?” – Alec asked while he was examining another photograph.

"Those were taken just a couple of days before the fire at your house." - Maryse took a deep breath and answered looking at Clary. She gestured to the boys to give her the images and now she was holding the pictures in her hands with so much attention not to damage them and yet she couldn't stop her hands from shaking lightly at the memories. It was like they had just taken these pictures yesterday and not over two decades ago.

"I didn't join the circle because I believed in Valentine or his ideas. I did it because for some reason your mother was smitten with him and I couldn't stand the thought of losing her. We were together long before we became _parabatai_ and after we joined the circle, we just kept our affair quiet. The years passed and Jocelyn married Valentine, it wasn't as though we could marry each other anyway and I… I met Robert. He was a kind young man at first but in time his desire for power transformed him into something else completely. Once Jocelyn gave birth to you Clary, we reconnected and you girls seemed to be glued to each other. I remember the first time you two met, Clary you were barely standing on your feet but you kept dragging Isabelle to play with you. You even gave her your favorite stuffed puppy every time she and Alec stayed for a sleepover." - Maryse spoke with a nostalgic laugh and clear water droplets began cascading down her cheeks.

"I loved you and your brother like I love my own children and when I heard about the fire I sobbed for days. I could feel my _parabatai_ was alive, our bond was holding by a threat after Jocelyn went into hiding and Magnus had cast all the right spells to make her disappear from the Shadow world but I could still feel it in my bones. But I had no idea where she had taken you. It wasn't too long after that, that Jace officially came officially into our family as Valentine's rage reached its peaks and many innocent people suffered the anger that was taken all by Jocelyn previously. He was furious that she had escaped and managed to get you with her. We owed it to the Herondale's to take care of their little boy and that's a decision I'll never regret." - Maryse said once more with an iron voice, nothing but truth coating her words.

"Then why don't we remember anything? How come I never even dreamed of her?" - Izzy asked still confused and hurt, now not sure if the hazy memories from before were really hers or just prompted from the photos.

"I made sure you wouldn't." - Maryse began speaking again.

"When Jocelyn and Clary disappeared, you'd cry for days on end, Alec would ask questions all day and Robert was off to nobody knows where... You and Clary had grown so close and you were barely four at the time, you couldn't understand what was happening. So, one night I took you and Alec to one of the few sorceresses I could trust, Ehuang, and begged her to erase every memory you had with them, everything that had to do with Clary, Jonathan, and their mother. After that, our lives became pretty much routines, Robert and I would chase after Valentine in hopes of redeeming ourselves in the eyes of the Clave and you were all left to get ready for your Shadowhunters lives. Having Clary, Jonathan, and Jocelyn, all three of them taken from me I just couldn't bear the thought of losing you as well." - Maryse spoke and this time looked at Izzy, Alec, and Jace.

"I don't expect you to understand my choices or... or to forgive me for them but I do want you all to know that I never stopped feeling guilty for the way you were all dragged into something that should have never touched you otherwise." - Maryse said finally, trying to regain her usual iron voice but at the same time searching for the eyes of the children in front of her.

"Then why did you hate me so much when you saw me at the Institute?" - Clary asked, now more than ever confused about all the secrets that connected them all.

"I didn’t hate you Clary but seeing you brought back some very strong memories I thought I had long since forgotten and you had no idea who I was Clary, I was already some kind of monster in your eyes for treating Isabelle the way I did. And you were right, I would never be able to apologize enough for that Izzy. It was so hard being both your mother and your commander so I just tried to ignore the first one." - It was the first time she turned to her daughter with her nickname.

"I couldn't even see Jocelyn before she died and you know what happens when your parabatai dies..." - Maryse spoke again and this time Alec's and Jace's gazes landed on each other while Izzy and Clary unconsciously did the same.

"Now imagine how you'd feel if you lost both your _parabatai_ and your soul mate at once... that's why it's forbidden for _parabatais_ to fall in love with each other because the connection is too deep and too powerful. It can drive the remaining living part of the _parabatai_ mad with grief and end their life shortly after."

"Then you didn't really love Jocelyn after all?" - This time Alec surprised everyone by asking.

"I did, my dear boy. But love is a two-way street. You can't force it onto somebody. Jocelyn's and mine _parabatai_ connection was holding by a thread but her love for me was nowhere near as strong as it once was it seemed. In the moment of her death, she hadn't spoken to me in over twenty-one years, she had nothing to do with the Shadowhunter's world for a long time and she buried everything related to it in the ashes of the fire that granted her freedom. I guess I should be thankful that she forgot me, in a way it saved my life..." - Maryse said and a single hot tear spilled from her left eye while she managed to wipe away the one from the right.

"I need some air." - Alec said after a few moments of silence.

"I'll come with you." - Isabelle added and Jace nodded with his head too, silently and followed them to the door, leaving Clary and Maryse alone. Somehow after seeing the photos and learning the story behind them, Jace’s anger toward Clary and Izzy had almost disappeared completely.

The middle-aged woman was now standing up from her seat and had turned her back to the room as soon as her children began moving out, it hurt too much to see the people she most loved walk away from her after she had told them the entire truth but she knew they needed some time to process everything.

"She didn't." - Clary said quietly once everyone cleared out of the room and Maryse turned back to face Clary, finally able to breathe properly in decades.

"What?" - She asked startled, not expecting any of the children to still be around her. Much less Clary.

"I don't like you Maryse. You've been unnecessarily cruel to Izzy most of her life and everything we just learned now is... too much but... Jocelyn never forgot about you." - Clary said as she took a step closer to the older woman.

"After Magnus' spells wore off, I started remembering stuff. Images that made no sense would pop into my head from time to time, especially when the stress of being the newest Shadowhunter would get too much. I never said anything but I remember my mother painting a woman with black hair and that exact necklace you're wearing right now. I remember her sketching numerous white pages with that particular face over the years and then keeping them inside the locked trunk in her bedroom, with her weapons." - Clary spoke with a giant lump in her throat.

"I remember her waking up from a nightmare clutching your portrait in her hands and mumbling "I'm sorry" and until today nothing of this made any sense to me. Even when Luke and she began dating, she still used to draw you from time to time." - Clary spoke and saw Maryse's bloodshot eyes shine with something akin to longing, hope, and maybe even a flicker of happiness.

"She never forgot you either… There was always a vase with fresh white roses in it, always on her bedside table." - Clary said finally and touched Maryse's shoulder with her hand before she retrieved the burned letter from her pocket and handed it to Maryse, finally to be read by the person it was always addressed to. The redhead's eyes looked exactly like Jocelyn's the last time she saw her and as soon as Maryse read the first line of the letter, she couldn't hold back her tears anymore. It seemed that for all the joys love brings, it also carries the power of hurting the ones you love even more.

Leaving a crushed, sobbing Maryse now seated on the floor, Clary turned on her heels and headed to where the rest of her friends were waiting. War was brewing in the air and no one was sure if tomorrow will be the day all hell breaks loose.

The next day, once everyone had woken up, Maryse took it upon herself and started making coffee for all the people coming one by one to the kitchen of the Institute, she hadn’t even seen the time when she stepped through the portal back at the Institute. She had spent most of the night crying, but when the sun rose above the horizon, she wiped her tears and stepped through the portal.

Alec, Jace, Magnus, and Izzy made their way into the kitchen, neither of them talking, yesterday had been one exhausting day and it was only a question of time when Valentine’s next attack would be.

“I’m guessing Clary and Jonathan are not joining us.” – Maryse as she took her cup of coffee and sat on the big wooden table.

“Actually, we were just on our way here when we saw Simon coming in.” – Clary said as the two boys on each of her sides waved awkwardly.

“Okay, there’s no time to waste, we need to gather allies.” – Maryse began talking.

“Meliorn said he’ll gather all the seelies and downworlders that are not siding with Valentine, Magnus, I think your assistance will provide us with even better results than if we were to leave the task entirely up to the seelie. The vampire boy can go with you too. I’ll go talk with an old friend of mine, and the rest of you can gather the Shadowhunters in Idris to see what the armories can offer us. We’ll need all the help we can get when we face Valentine.” – Maryse had the unique way of giving orders, so used to commanding that she didn’t notice the look that Magnus and Alec were giving her until she finished talking but ultimately both nodded in agreement with the plan. It was easier to fight one battle at a time and the one with Valentine took precedence at the moment.

Out of nowhere, a ball of light appeared and Valentine’s figure appeared before them, making Simon let out a rather high-pitched gasp before he took Isabelle’s coffee mug from her hands and threw it at the figure. As if a ghost was standing before them, the mug, still half full, traversed the figure and shattered into the wall behind him, resulting in Isabelle glaring at Simon. Everyone in the room had already drawn their weapons when Valentine spoke.

  
“Such a warm welcome! Don’t get too excited now, I’m just here to offer you a deal.” – Valentine said, looking at the people around him, his eyes stopping on Clary.

“We are at the dawn of a new era, one where outdated concepts of good and evil are no longer dictating the way we live our lives. Everyone can be free to choose the power they have and how to use it, no more restrains and punishments… Join us Clary!” – Valentine talked as if he was promising universal health care and for a moment Clary wondered how someone could have such twisted ideas.

“Over my dead body.” – Clary gritted her teeth.

“I was hoping we could avoid all that…” – Valentine sighed theatrically.

“You have until sunrise to come to your senses and come to me on your own free will Clary. Do that and I give you my word, all your friends will live, you don’t have to fight, you don’t owe it to anybody, join me and I’ll even let Jonathan here live or… watch everyone and everything you hold dear crumble to ashes around you before I _make_ you join me. Choose wisely, darling daughter.” – Valentine cackled and disappeared with the same flash of light that he first appeared with.

“Alec, follow the plan and then tell Jace to gather a group of Shadowhunters and make sure there are no holes in the walls around the city and I’ll see that we gather everyone in the accords hall this afternoon.” – Maryse said and walked away. Now Clary could see where Izzy and Alec got their commanding genes from, the entire Lightwood family seemed to have that regal air about them.

_*Several long hours later in the Accords Halls of Alicante*_

Everyone that had not sided with Valentine and had agreed to fight with them was already standing in the accords hall, never so many different creatures had gathered into one room. There was a representative of each major downworlder fraction, vampires, werewolves, seelies even some shapeshifters here and there, and chaos reigned in the halls, everyone trying to speak their mind.

“Why not attack them together? I don’t think diving our forces is the best option.” – One of the few remaining Clave members asked boldly above the sea of voices.

“We cannot risk a direct attack, as we know, we are outnumbered and we need to keep our strength if we want to stall enough for Clary to kill Valentine, that’s our only hope. With no leader, the horsemen will have no one to be tethered to, and without a tether, they can’t exist on this plane. Without them, the demons will be easier to deal with, so while some of us take on the first wave, we still have the second offensive to help us.” – Alec explained, almost wishing he could tell that pompous elder to shove his thoughts where the sun couldn’t reach them.

“Magnus, you and your group would be best suited on the walls at the gates, I want you spread around the perimeter and you’ll try and hold the protective wall around Alicante as much as you can.” – Alec said and straighten his posture as if to remind himself not to show what he was thinking or more like questioning the plan they had come up with.

“I’ll do my best and I’m sure my fellow warlocks and witches will too but we are going to be greatly outnumbered. Daniel has the power of three of the horsemen and he will use it, some demons will inevitably slip through.” – Magnus voiced his worries.

“We got that covered, I and the rest of the archers are going to be on the two main towers that guard the entrance of the city too and the walls joining them, there will be an archer to every warlock or witch. That way we can shoot the neem grenades we found in the armory and lower their numbers, _and_ take care of those who manage to penetrate the magic shield.” – Alec spoke again.

“Meliorn, Rafael, and Simon, you along with your group will provide support from the right walls and Luke and the werewolves will take the left.” – Alec continued assigning positions and all three men nodded in understanding.

“Mom, you and the others will take the position on Angel square and take care of everything that slips past our defenses. Jace will stay with you and help you out. We all know that we will be outnumbered but many of these demons are low lever creatures, we can easily take most of them on if we stay united.” – Alec explained and now most of the eyes were directed to Clary.

“Clary you’ll guard the portal…”

“Out of the question!” – Clary interrupted him briskly.

“You are the one Valentine needs to bring the fourth horseman! We can’t just hand you to him! If Valentine succeeds to bring forth Death, then all this would be for nothing. There’s a reason why Death is the fourth and most dangerous of the horsemen, with just one motion of their hand, Death can kill all of us.” – Alec rolled his eyes.

“I’m not saying wrap me in a paper and a bow but I will not just hide here while you are all out there risking your lives for me!” – She yelled back, these two seemed more like siblings with each day that would pass.

“So, unless you plan on tying me to the portal itself, you can forget about that part of your plan.” – Clary said resolute and heard Izzy’s “ _tempting”_ sound in her mind, trying very hard not to lose her self-control now and wink back at her parabatai.

“… fine, have it your way Fray. But you are our only hope of defeating Valentine so we need you as safe as possible. You can’t exhaust yourself with the “foot soldiers” so you’ll wait with the rest of the Shadowhunters at the Angel square and keep the entrance to the gardens that lead to the Accord Halls. Izzy will help you guard that third gate.” – Alec concluded and when Clary nodded in agreement the small groups began murmuring among themselves. With their parabatai connection, Alec knew that the best option for his sister and Clary was to stay close to each other, just like he needed to stay close to Jace and Magnus.

It was Isabelle’s turn to tell them the final part of their plan, the one they all prayed to avoid.

“If our defenses start weakening and we need to flee to survive, we all fall back to the Accords Hall and make our last stand there. That way we are less dispersed and have a better chance. There is also a mechanism there that will seal the portal to the mundane world if we are all killed and give the mundanes at least a chance to make their peace. Valentine _will_ find a way to bring hell on earth if he raises the fourth horseman so let’s try our best to avoid that.” – Isabelle said and watched everyone in the room return to their conversations.

There were barely sixty people in a hall made for six hundred, where once every accord in the Shadow world was signed and the most sacred of ceremonies were held, now they mapped their final stand. The murmurs of the Nephilim and downworlders alike filled the air, everyone was nervous even what was left of the council seemed to be with nervously twirling hands.

Clary saw the looks that Magnus was giving her before he turned his attention back to Alec, he tried to encourage her but his own eyes were filled with doubt and uncertainty.

“We do not want to be here, I will not lie to you.” – Clary moved to stand where Alec stood before and began talking. 

“Nobody wants to be here waiting for a hellhound to summon its masters and make Earth the tenth circle of hell. Neither of us thought we’d ever live long enough to find ourselves in this situation, a situation we thought was many, many centuries away, but we have been preparing for it every single day of our lives. Some of us have trained for years.” - She said and looked at where her friends from the New York Institute were standing.

“Others have been hunting demons for years.” – She added as she looked to where Luke and the pack of werewolves were standing, side by side with Maryse and the small group of Nephilim that had survived the attack on Samara and were fit to fight again.

“Some have even lived long enough to see unimaginable things and learn the hardest of lessons.” – Clary saw Magnus and his team of witches and warlocks, they were barely ten people, the only ones brave enough to stand against Daniel.

“We have all loved and lost someone.” – The redhead continued talking and this time she looked at where Jonathan and Jace were standing. Side by side, once two of the most bitter of enemies, now united ironically enough not out of hate but love.

That seemed to be the recurring theme of this peculiar situation they had all found themselves in at this very moment. Those that once were bitter enemies, now stood side by side, ready to die for one another because this was the only war that mattered, the only time when fighting mercilessly meant living in a better world after that … or at least _a_ world. They will mourn and rebuilt, and remake, they’ll start from zero again but first they had to survive. They had to fight because they wanted to live… and love again.

“We all have wounds that need to heal and lives we want to reclaim and live to the fullest.” – Clary nodded slowly to the downworlders that had gathered the courage to show up after Valentine’s previous attack, Raphael and Meliorn now stood at the front, each holding the other’s hand quietly. Simon stood among their ranks as well, ready to fight.

“And to do that, we have to fight. We must fight for our lives and for the lives of all the mundanes that will never know what’s happening around them. We’ve all fought one another in the past and now is the time we fight side by side for our future so, do not fight for me, or for those like me, fight for all of us!” – Clary said loudly and the crowd in front of her cheered. Probably more than half of them would not live to see tomorrow’s sunset but she quickly shook that thought out of her mind, she needed her mind to be clear and ready.

The defense was assembled and the plan was laid out, there wasn’t much left to do so everyone began making their way out of the accord halls.

“Come on, let’s go to our room, I want to hold you.” – Izzy whispered in Clary’s ear and pulled at her hand.

“Now, how can I say no to that?” – Clary teased her as she let herself gladly be pulled after the younger Lightwood.

On the other end of the room, Alec stood watching as everyone made their way to their own rooms, Alicante was big enough to host the downworlders that had agreed to fight against Valentine, soon even Maryse retired to her room in the Lightwood manor, leaving Magnus and Alec alone.

“Come on, it’s time we get some rest as well.” – Alec finally said but Magnus stood before him and leaned in for a kiss. It was supposed to be short and sweet but it quickly turned into something more passionate and wistful than originally planned.

“Lead the way Mr. Lightwood.” – Alec teased when they finally managed to separate from the kiss. 

Walking slowly hand in hand, Magnus couldn’t stop himself when he began talking again.

“You know, Alicante is quite beautiful at night.”

“You should see it when we’re not preparing for a war, it really is quite impressive.” – Alec said with a small smile.

“If I’m with you even the back allies of Manhattan seem impressive.” – Magnus said quietly and before his husband could tease him again about getting all romantic on him, the warlock gently pushed Alec into the garden of the Lightwood manor, just before they could turn on the hallway to where Alec’s room was, thankfully far, far enough from Izzy’s.

Pulling Alec in for one more kiss, or two maybe but really who counted? The pair made their way to the bench in the garden, right under the full moon.

“Finally, I can have some time alone with my husband. You’ve been running around all day.” – Magnus spoke softly as he stepped closer to where Alec was sitting.

“There were a lot of things to get done, I never thought…” – Alec began saying but his throat suddenly felt all too dry to continue.

“I never thought I’d see the day where half of our people were slaughtered and we’d barely be able to organize the defense for what is left of Alicante.” – He rasped, his tone more serious and solemn than Magnus had ever heard before.

“You are young, Alexander. You don’t remember the time of the great war between the Nephilim and the downworlders.” – His husband began speaking.

“That war was a pointless, senseless debacle that divided the Shadow world, made us loathe and kill each other for the longest time. But this war, this is _the_ one, the greatest battle we have prepared for our entire lives. It is our time to fight so that one day we can live and love again, even though the mundanes will never know it, it is our job to save this world.”

“I don’t want to lose you, Magnus. I am not prepared to lose you.” – Alec interrupted him and saw his husband’s eyes soften at that and his hand grasping his firmer.

“I _cannot_ lose you, not now that you’ve shown me what happiness truly is. I want more time with you, I want to travel the world with you and have you show me all the places you’ve visited, I want to keep hearing your whimpers every time I kiss your neck, I want to build a family with you someday. And after finding out what my mother felt for Clary’s mother and seeing how their story ended… I…” – Alec tried saying what was on his mind but the lump in his throat was barely letting him breathe at the moment.

“I want all that as well Alec, every single thing you just said… I feel like I’ve waited for eons to meet you and I fear I might never have enough of being with you.” – Magnus said and leaned in to kiss Alec with the softest of kisses, his hands cupping gently his husband’s face.

“I wish we could just run away, right now.” – Alec said, for a moment voicing both his deepest shame and his greatest desire. He wasn’t brought up to flee a battle, he wasn’t thought to hide like a coward and leave his sister, his family and his friends to deal with what was about to come. But a small, minuscule, barely noticeable part of his heart wanted to tuck Magnus somewhere safe and to hell with everything else… quite literally in this case. It was funny, Magnus had been alive for centuries and was one of the most, in not _the_ most powerful wizard of his time and yet Alec still wanted to protect him, that was one of the things the wizard loved about his husband.

“Perhaps once this is all over, we can do some traveling. I know the perfect place to start from… Hey, we can do this. We survived telling your mother about us, this will be like a child’s game compared to that.” – Magnus added with a small chuckle that the man in front of him reciprocated but quickly the somber atmosphere returned and small silence filled the air between them. 

“Be careful tomorrow, please.” – Alec said, barely above whispering.

“You as well, my love.” – Magnus managed to say before he felt Alec’s kiss on his lips again, this time far more demanding than before and his hands pushing him gently to stand up and walk back to their bedroom. Stumbling through the dark corridors wasn’t the best thing but every second their lips weren’t touching felt like an entire year.

That night, the three most used, repeated, whispered, and screamed words in the entire city of Alicante were the same, the same that were rooted into almost every dispute, the core reason of almost every conflict and stood behind almost every tear ever shed… _I love you._

Several hours later, Clary was standing in front of the mirror, just trying to figure out how to fasten the armor Izzy had given her last night when she felt soft fingers caress her back. Lifting her gaze, she saw those black swirly strands of hair she loved waking up to each morning frame Izzy’s preoccupied face.

“Let me help you with that.” – Izzy said and took the leather belts and buckles to secure the breastplate around Clary’s shirt, letting her fingers wander around the other girl’s skin for a while.

“You’re usually much faster with this thing, are you tired? Maybe we should’ve actually slept last night.” – Clary’s voice was teasing.

“I’m simply admiring the view and sleep was the last thing I wanted to do before the battle today.” – Izzy said and pressed her front to Clary’s back while her hands hugged her waist and her lips placed a small kiss between Clary’s shoulders and neck. The armor laid forgotten on the floor in Clary’s feet and both women relishing those last fleeing moments of quietness and Izzy’s tongue soothing the small bites she placed along Clary’s back of the neck. Usually, this was the spot that made the redhead’s knees turn into jelly and she felt the desire Izzy felt but would never voice, she wanted to take her and run away, run fast and without stopping but there was nowhere left to run…

“Iz…” – Clary groaned, suddenly frustrated that they would have absolutely no time at all for the things her body wanted her to do with Izzy and after last night it was the pure adrenalin that kept them standing.

“Be extremely careful, please.” – Isabelle’s voice insisted again but sounded small in Clary’s right ear.

“Hey, look at me.” – Clary said as she turned back and now held Izzy in her arms as well.

Normally, Clary would say the same thing back or simply “I love you” but after last night there wasn’t much left to be said if anything at all. All words suddenly sounded meek and incapable of transmitting their exact feelings so Clary didn’t even try to, instead, she gently kissed Isabelle’s lips, and when the other girl pulled her even closer and the kiss morphed into something more urgent and passionate Clary felt her mind being soothed by Isabelle’s. It was like she could feel the exact same feelings that raged in her heart reflected from Isabelle, or perhaps she was the one reflecting them back… Either way, no words could compare to the silent bliss of this very moment.

“Don’t leave my side.” – Clary mumbled as they finally separated from their kiss and managed to calm their breathing.

“Never.” – Izzy whispered back and brought their foreheads together, both closing their eyes and searing the memory into their minds.

The pair made their way to the main towers of the city, the ones that guarded the entrance to Alicante, and found Alec and Magnus already there talking in hushed voices and holding each other as well before they went to join them. They were the only ones there but the sun was barely starting to shine its first rays over the cobalt skies above them.

“Izzy, remember to guard your left side.” – Alec said as he approached them with Magnus next to him.

“I will.” – She said with a small smile, she loved her brother still fussing over her safety sometimes but she couldn’t find it in herself to tease him about it this time.

“I see neither of us got much sleep last night.” – Rafael appeared next with Meliorn by his side, noticing the slightly darker circles around everyone’s eyes.

There was a charged silence in the air as everyone made their way to their positions, Magnus giving Alec one last silent look that spoke of love and reassurance, Clary giving Izzy one last gentle squeeze of her hand as they gripped their swords tighter. Rafael and Melriorn parting with one last kiss and Luke giving Clary a quick wink. Maryse walked quickly to Alec and Izzy and gave them a hug so tight that they both got startled at first, not expecting it. It took them a moment before they silently returned the hug and when they separated and she caressed their cheeks telling them something, both Lightwoods went for a second, quicker, hug before parting again. For a single, short-lived moment they seemed like the children she once left to start their training and not the capable adults they had become and Maryse’s eyes clouded just the tiniest bit. She had left Max hidden in their estate in Spain, living among the mundane and she only prayed that she wouldn’t lose any of her two children standing with their weapons by her side today.

Rafael cast one quick glance at Magnus and saw him searching for his eyes as well, it had been a couple of centuries since they last had a meaningful conversation, just the two of them, but Rafael would always love the warlock that showed him how to tame his vampire side. He was like the father he never had and now a certain regret weighed heavily upon him, so Rafael only gave Magnus a small sincere smile and a nod, and vowed to himself to spend more time with him if he survived today. Yes, perhaps a nice pool game between the old man and him was long overdue. Jace on the other hand, ran up to Alec and Izzy as Maryse walked away and gave his _parabatai_ a hug, hesitating for only a second before he did the same with Isabelle and she gladly returned the gesture. Once more, no words were needed, they were family.

The last goodbyes seemed to freeze time for most of them but reality quickly came rushing over them once they heard a loud horn sound in the distance, the demon towers of Alicante illuminated in strong yellow… the time had come… and suddenly the ground beneath their feet froze completely, solid clumps of soil shattered under their feet with each step they’d take.

“Fuck!” – Maryse was the first to realize what had happened and since nobody had ever heard the Lightwood matriarch say anything quite like that and quite that loud at that, they all looked at her surprised.

“The towers won’t help us, at this point they are as useful as traffic lights during a lockdown. Prepare to improvise!” – She said to the people nearest to her but bad news traveled faster than the light of the Sun and in a matter of minutes everyone knew what had happened.

Surprisingly, there was no panic among the majority of the group, the end had come that much was clear, they had pretty much all prepared for that last night, to die fighting, give up their lives hoping to save their friend’s or family’s. Almost everyone Shadowhunters and downworlders alike took one deep breath and headed for their designated stations.

The invasion began with hordes of demons galloping against them, at first only two legions could be seen in the distance but then two became three and then four, and finally the growling, grotesque creatures were everywhere they could see. Led by the three horsemen and Daniel Longhorn, there was still no trace of Valentine but he was there, watching from somewhere until the time came and his troops had managed to enter into the city.

There was a loud, almost deafening thunder that shook the skies and black clouds drowned the Sun and its light, it was like all of a sudden, all the love and gentleness of the world disappeared, and the crude, macabre reality of what was about to happen washed over the defenders of Alicante.

The three horsemen walked calmly among the legions of gnarling underlings, their figures standing out as they assumed their positions, the very roles they were created for, harbingers of chaos, and the end of days. Three horses, strolling proudly among the field of enraged demons, three horsemen eager to see their mission to the end and not have it spoiled again, they still remembered the last time they tried. They _all_ still remember Jericho.

Magnus and the rest of the sorcerers began chanting old spells and casting their magic, a moment later a white-ish bubble of light enveloped the entire city of Alicante, sealing all the entrances. That seemed to enrage even more the hordes nearing the gates and some of them tried to gain more speed thinking they could break the barrier. While it was true that each hit it withstood left a dent in the wizard’s powers, they were experienced enough to share their energies and help ground each other, making the barriers stand unbreakable for now.

A dark red horse made its way to the front and War jumped on the ground, his hood securely resting still on top of his face, shielding it from everyone. Taking out the sword strapped on its hips, the horseman brought it above his head and with a loud screech forced it through the white energy shield. Daniel stood near the back left hove of the red horse with his palms up towards the energy shield, reciting incantations. The place around the blade began burning away and tear slowly, making Pjerkje, one of the youngest warlocks in the ranks on the other side of the barrier scream in pain while trying desperately to hold his stance.

“Keep your focus!” – Magnus shouted between chants. He could see the young boy was in trouble, as the youngest link in their chain he was the most vulnerable to the attack.

The tear in the shield became more and more noticeable and so the demons began squeezing through the openings, War walked along the wall guarding the city and once again plunged its sword into the barrier, this time making Loras cry out in agony and fall to his knees, breaking the link between him and the rest of the wizards. There now were two tears in the barrier and the gaps were growing larger and larger. More demons started penetrating the barricade and making their way to the heavy wooden gated of the city.

“Archers! On my command!” – Alec’s voice sounded above the thumping steps of the creatures approaching them.

“Steady! Steady…” – He instructed as he saw the demons almost getting in range for their weapons. Most of the demons on the front lines were already crippled from trying to squeeze through the barrier, many of them were missing a limb but their bitter exasperation to fight made them keep moving.

“Release! Now!” – Alec yelled and the archers followed the order. The bombs that the iron sisters had once made turned out to be more destructive than they all initially thought, leaving scorched, black earth under the feet of the demons.

That followed for a while until the defense shield crumpled down completely as another warlock cried in pain and began bleeding profusely from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. His body hit the ground in a puddle of his own blood and sweat. The veil had fallen and the sorcerers couldn’t gather so much energy to build a new one so each of them started taking out as many demons as they could with their individual powers. Some blasted fireballs at them and others enchanted the archer’s arrows to go through multiple bodies.

The archers kept working with the wizards while Luke and the rest transformed into wolves and began biting fiercely the heads off of the demons. Rafael, Simon, and Meliorn moved swiftly between the chaos of moving bodies around them as well.

War kept advancing before the other two horsemen and the blade of his sword dragged on the tiles, sparks flying as the metal scraped the street.

The demon towers in the city immediately changed to angry red, almost as red as War’s horse and Alec saw two of the demons jumping on the back of a silver wolf and biting his neck, leaving the warrior to fall to his demise paralyzed. Out of nowhere, a gush of hot, thick, red blood sprayed the side of his face, turning just in time to avoid the sharp talon of a demon headed to his face. By his feet laid the decapitated head of Margarita, one of Magnus’ oldest witch friends.

Turning quickly around, searching frantically for Magnus he panicked when he couldn’t spot him, he did however see the horsemen walking slowly but steadily toward them, having their swords almost effortlessly. A strong and bulky dark brown wolf hollowed and ripped the two demons approaching him to shreds, charging directly at the black horseman. The moment the wolf jumped, Famine extended a bony hand and grabbed it by the throat. The white horsemen continued advancing undisturbed.

That was when Alec saw a flash of violet in the air and then saw Magnus, his clothes half torn and with a couple of bloody gashes here and there but otherwise okay. Nodding quickly to himself he tried to make his way to where Famine held the dark wolf by the throat. He knew that particular wolf, he could not just let him die, he could not just let Luke perish without even trying to help him.

With each step Alec tried to take he saw demons jumping at him and pushing him away from his target, her could see Luke’s wolf form gasping for air, whimpering and whining as his whole body began shriveling slowly as if he’d never had a meal in his life. The wolf’s misery was hard to watch but he couldn’t move faster, he could only listen until the desperate cried stopped and Famine discarded the dead, shriveled body of the wolf to the side.

Magnus wasn’t faring much better, he had teamed up with Rafael and a wounded Meliorn after the vampire refused to leave him to die. Four literal hell hounds descended upon them and Magnus summoned a portal to drop them directly in the middle of the ocean but he knew he couldn’t waste his energy like that so the demons that followed after them had to be dealt with by more traditional measures.

“Rafi, we must retrieve!” – Magnus said as he saw Alec giving him the signal.

“Fall back!” – Alec shouted as loudly as he could and his command got repeated by everyone that heard it until they all knew what followed next.

“Go help Alec, Meliorn and I will manage!” – Rafael said and gave Magnus a reassuring look. He was about to protest but saw a _forh_ _ẫ_ demon approaching Alec from behind. The creature was one of the more dangerous demons they were fighting, its sharp nails contained a poisoning agent that was capable of bringing down a whole elephant in seconds. The nasty bastard had the ability to camouflage himself with its surroundings making it almost impossible to be seen but very easily detectable to those with magic.

“ _Ferhu cangliegh anam!” –_ Magnus yelled and a bolt of violet lightning descended from the black skies and cut the _forh_ _ẫ_ in half before he had the opportunity to finish his attack, his sharp talon aimed directly at the back of Alec’s head.

Startled from the unexpected explosion so close to him Alec quickly turned around and saw the halved demon being stomped upon a couple of the remaining werewolves.

“Thanks, love, I owe you one!” – Alec smiled at Magnus.

“I’ll definitely keep that in mind Shadowhunter, now stop distracting me and move it.” – The warlock said and grabbed Alec’s hand, pulling him back to the Angel square where the rest of the Shadowhunters waited.

Rafael and Meliorn were joined by Simon when they got to where Alec and Magnus were making their way to the second doors of the city.

“We’re almost there!” – Alec said encouraging the men around him.

Stepping just near the second gates, Magnus turned to Meliorn who was still leaning on Rafael’s shoulder.

“Do you have enough energy to help me with a fireball spell? We need to give everyone behind us a small window without risking more of the demons getting through the second doors.” – He asked quickly and Meliorn began chanting the words even before the high warlock of Brooklyn had finished. Seelies were not as powerful magicians as warlocks but they knew how to channel the energy and out of a group of a seelie, a Shadowhunter, and a vampire, the first was the only one that could help him with the little push he needed.

Just a second before he could say the last word another _forh_ _ẫ_ demon appeared next to them and this time Magnus was too slow to stop him. Three things seemed to happen all at once. First, there was a sharp cry, then came a large fireball that obliterated every demon for half a mile, giving everyone that had gathered in front of the second gates a chance to go in unfollowed, and then, another sharp cry. The second cry was not like the first though, they came from two very different people.

Alec pushed the wooden doors open and saw a body on the ground very close to him, Rafael was gasping for air and Magnus was already by his side, holding his hand and frantic tears streaming down his face with Meliorn on his other side.

“Stay with me Rafi, I can fix you.” – Magnus kept repeating but Rafael didn’t even have the time to answer, his breath quickly became shallow and ragged, and his eyes closed.

“No, no, no!” – Both Magnus and Meliorn cried over Rafael’s body but the smoke was quickly clearing out and the silhouette of War, Famine and Pestilence could still be seen in the distance, approaching.

“Simon, help me pick him up!” – Alec shouted as he grabbed Magnus and pulled him to his feet.

“Magnus, we’re not leaving him, but we need to move.” – Alec tried but he could see the ire in his husband’s eyes, he knew that for him Rafael was like a son and he knew that his loss will not be easy to accept but they didn’t have time to think about it now.

“Magnus! We have to go!” – Alec repeated louder this time and Magnus found himself nodding as he helped Meliorn to limp through the gates as Simon and Alec carried Rafael’s body and the gates closed behind them. 

“Alec!” – Maryse, Jace, and Izzy all ran up to him, examining him carefully, giving Magnus space, and seeing the fresh tears falling from the warlock’s eyes as he crouched over Rafael’s body.

“I’m okay. But we don’t have much time.” – Alec said as the gates before them echoed a loud thud.

“Are we all that’s left?” – Meliorn asked holding his injured hand tightly, the cuts on his face had stopped bleeding already but the dust and grime that coated them now were causing them to begin stinging.

Taking a careful look around, Clary noticed that there were around twenty left of them at most, and this number was including the wounded. She didn’t even want to think about the demons outside the gate and she could see the wooden gates beginning to rot in front of her eyes, what she couldn’t see was the horseman of the white horse that was touching the wood on the other side. Magnus joined the group once more, his eyes still red from crying but his face was expressionless.

“Magnus, I have an idea…” – Ehuang said as she took a couple of steps closer to the warlock.

“These towers were built to protect the city, act as a defense mechanism but when Valentine froze the ground the adamas lines going through the towers froze too but if we can find a way to make them move again, perhaps we stand a chance.” – She explained, even though she had been living in Europe for a few centuries already, she still had that slight Chinese accent to her words. 

“We are the only two warlocks left, we don’t have nearly enough energy for that.” – Magnus shook his head.

“Maybe, but we have him.” – Ehuang said and gestured to Jonathan, Magnus immediately catching up on what she meant.

“Hmm, perhaps it could work. We’ll need to go to the main tower though, otherwise, it would be all for nothing.” – He added and Alec couldn’t take the tension any longer.

“Care to clue us in?” – The older Lightwood asked finally.

“The demon towers have the ability to obliterate all demons but for them to work properly they need the adamas coming from the ground to detect the demon presence and send the attack command to each of the towers. However, with the ground frozen solid, the adamas are “asleep” let’s say and we don’t have enough power to unfreeze all the ground that the city is spread so we need to unfreeze the lines where the adamas run. That’s where Jonathan comes into play. His demon blood burns hotter than the flames of hell itself, technically he’s one of them.” – Magnus explained but Clary rushed to interrupt him.

“He risks his life helping us, Magnus. He didn’t have to do any of that.” – She said, her anger rising.

Clary knew what her brother had done and there was a time when she herself would’ve ended his life but now… now all she could see was that small redhead boy from Maryse’s pictures, eager to protect his little sister. Clary felt Izzy’s hand slip in hers and squeeze gently, keeping her grounded.

“Clary, we won’t kill him. We just need his blood to keep the demons at bay while the others distract the horsemen and you finish off Valentine.” – Magnus quickly explained.

“It’s okay, sis. I want to do it.” – Jonathan said with a small smile, he could feel his hands twitching to take his sword and kill every single person and creature standing around him but whenever he looked at Clary, all that rage disappeared and he wanted nothing else but to protect her from Valentine. Perhaps when this was all over, they could finally get to know each other and he’d finally have some sort of a family that didn’t want to use him as a guinea pig.

“I’ll guard them. It’s worth the shot Clary.” – Jace said out of nowhere, he wasn’t the biggest fan of Jonathan still but he knew how dear the redhead held him.

“I’ll help as well.” – Izzy added and before Clary could protest Maryse joined the conversation.

“Count me too.” – She said as she walked to where the small group had now formed.

“I’m going with you.” – Alec said but Magnus shook his head.

“I only have three amulets that make the bearer untouchable by magic. If we fail, at least I’ll know that I didn’t give Daniel the satisfaction of killing my family with the snap of his fingers.” – Magnus said and handed the other three the amulets he talked about. Izzy immediately recognized hers, it was the same that Magnus had given her to locate demons so long ago, she loved that necklace.

“Be careful.” – Clary said and looked at Izzy _“Especially you, you were supposed to stay by my side so please do not get killed.” –_ She added in her mind and Isabelle gave her a small smile _“Have a little faith parabatai.” –_ The younger Lightwood teased her, words flowing through her mind like a river.

“In this case, Meliorn, you and I will take the rest of the team and make sure that the three horsemen are distracted while Clary fights Valentine.” – Alec said and saw the seelie nodding, he had barely said a word since Rafael’s death.

“Get ready, the gates are about to fall!” – One of the few surviving werewolves shouted.

“Time to fight everyone!” – Alec said and everyone quickly ran to where they were supposed to go.

What was left of the Shadowhunters’ forces quickly scrambled around and all the attention was placed upon Magnus and Ehuang that along with Jonathan, Izzy, Maryse, and Jace all sprinted towards the main demon tower, right beside the gates that had faded away almost completely.

“ _Wē Gār-Dena in geār-dagum, þeod-cyninga, þrym gefrunon, hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon. Syððan ærest wearð feasceaft funden. Ofer hronrade hyran scolde…”_ – Magnus started chanting, touching the tower with both hands.

Jace, Izzy and Maryse each chose a figure to protect and stood with their blades at the ready.

“Give me your hand!” – Ehuang instructed and Jonathan quickly obliged, he had already gotten used to this part but now at least his blood would serve for something more than causing pain and destruction.

Taking a smaller blade that was strapped to her hips, the woman slid Jonathan’s palm right on top of the already callused paler lines there. For a moment she felt bad for the boy, the scars on his body spoke to her but she willed her mind back to the present moment, slicing Jonathan’s other hand as well and placing them on the walls of the tower, placing her own on top of them and joining Magnus with the chant.

“ _Ia bend dǽdon níwe. Cúðon gare íewe deahl sǽ áre. Sé áre. Ig bæþ deahl sǽ néah. Déaþ ór cwylþ óga him. An wén. Flíete á. Dómdæg. Déaþ ór cwylþ óga him. An wén. Flíete á. Dómdæg…”_

The chanting felt like a monotonous hum of an engine to Jace’s ears, he spoke one language, including English and the gate that just crumbled into ashes in front of his eyes made goosebumps appear on his arms. Izzy saw that little change in him and knew her brother was feeling scared, the feeling finally becoming too overwhelming even for him.

“I’ve got your back Jace.” – She said but he didn’t have the chance to say anything back because the horde of demons that ran toward them, ready to tear them apart, was already mere steps from them.

Ducking, Jace saw the opportunity to kill the first demon standing in front of him, he had ended up protecting Jonathan and he would do exactly that, even if it cost him his life. The next demon had a nightmare worthy appearance, its flesh was red and torn in places, his lanky body moved from left to right as it stretched its sharp nails and thrust into him, Jace barely avoided that one, this bastard was quick…

Izzy on the other hand looked much more confident in her moves, she had never seen that particular demon she was fighting but the electrum whip hissed in her hand and coiled around its neck while she jabbed her sword into his eyes. The whip then quickly turned into a staff and she easily took care of the next couple of demons that tried approaching as one.

Maryse had no troubles at first either, protecting her son in law was probably the most exciting thing she got to do in the last decade or so but she wasn’t sure how long they’d be able to hold the hoard swarming around them.

“Aaahhh!” – Jonathan cried in pain but kept his hands glued to the crystal walls as the adamas in the first tower were finally starting to move, their magic was working but it was far from being done.

The demons that had managed to get past the first squad at the demon tower had gone off to fight Meliorn, Alec, and the rest. Clary could still not see where Valentine was, he and Daniel were walking a few meters in front of the three horsemen, reveling in the destruction around them.

“The adamas veins have to be unfrozen in all 13 towers, keep going!” – Magnus said as Ehuang slowed her chanting to see if it was working.

The anguished screams around them, the strong smell of sulfur, copper, and iron made it difficult for them to guess how much time had passed but by the time Magnus announced that only two more towers were left, Izzy and Jace were breathing heavily and sweat fell from their foreheads. It seemed like they had been fighting for hours and days even and yet with each demon they killed another two took its place and so forth.

The three horsemen were approaching, now Magnus could see clearly Daniel and Valentine walking in front of them. Nodding with his head, Valentine sent the warlock with the stronger demons toward the group at the first tower.

“One more to go!” – Magnus yelled and Izzy could see the exhaustion creeping up to him, she only hoped all this was worth it because it didn’t look like they were getting out of here alive.

“Daniel is approaching fast!” – Ehuang said loudly and Magnus made a mental note to congratulate his past self’s prudence for giving them those enchanted amulets earlier, making them immune to magic.

“I will take care of him, you finish the spell! Do not break the link before it’s done!” – He shouted and started stepping toward the other wizard.

“Hold on a minute, where do you think you’re going without me?” – Maryse asked as she finished killing another demon.

“I appreciate your worry dear but your help is better suited here, keep them safe.” – Magnus said nodding to her children behind her. She could hear Jonathan’s pained screams and when she looked at how tired both Izzy and Jace were looking, her decision was made as well, turning back and driving her sword through yet another demon.

Meliorn was fighting two Nuuanu demons, creatures that resembled a terrifying combination of a serpent and a crocodile when he used all the anger in him to cut both their heads off with one movement of his sword, unfortunately just in time to see the last werewolf crushed to death.

“Not to rush you guys but can you go a bit quicker?” – Jace asked rhetorically and Ehuang ignored him completely.

“Jace!” – Izzy yelled as she saw a demon creeping behind her brother and throwing her staff at it, embedding its shaft into its chest.

“Shit!” – Jace startled as he saw the tip of Izzy’s staff graze the side of his shoulder and then impale the demon behind him to the ground. Jace quickly searched for his sister’s eyes and gave her a wide smile.

“That’s how you make a demon kebab!” – He laughed and Izzy did too, finally feeling like the storm of the argument between them had passed. Ever since Clary appeared in their lives and turned them crazier, funnier, and all in all better, he and Alec began joking more and more often.

It was not that Izzy couldn’t handle other weapons than her whip, far from it, out of the trio she had always been the fastest to master a new weapon, that’s why Maryse was talking with members of the Clave to make her the next weapon’s master at the New York Institute but she always felt a little bit more exposed without it coiled on her wrist or in her arm.

A strong gush of wind appeared out of nowhere and Isabelle looked in the direction of its origin, she saw Magnus and Daniel fighting like no one else before, they were hurling magic at each other like snowballs, if said snowballs could kill of course. The concentration on Magnus’ face was a stark contrast to his usual friendly and playful smile.

The demons kept advancing around them and Izzy could barely keep up with all the creatures and it wasn’t until a demon that was once probably human judging from his stance attacked her, the demons with humanoid forms were much more difficult to kill than the rest, they were stronger, faster and what made them truly dangerous was their capacity to think and plan. Izzy miscalculated a step and ended up losing equilibrium, the demon used the moment and punched her hard, making her fall on the ground face first and opening quite the gash above her right eye, from the middle of the eyebrow to the side of her face.

“Isabelle!” – She heard her mother yell but the fall made her dizzy, she saw the jagged blade that was headed toward her and tried to roll away from it but another demon was closing in on her.

“Ehuang!” – Maryse yelled and saw her friend still chanting and pressing Jonathan’s hands against the tower.

Perhaps later the Clave would say that this was the worst moment for her motherly instinct to show, perhaps nobody will even find out how she died but the moment she saw Izzy falling on the ground she couldn’t hold herself back any longer. Moving quickly to her daughter’s side she killed the two demons approaching her with just four strikes of her sword and offered her hand to Isabelle.

“No time for naps darling.” – Maryse said, surprising the younger Shadowhunter yet again. Who knew her mother had a sense of humor too?

Just as Izzy got to her feet and steadied herself with Maryse’s help she got reminded of those little foals she used to watch when spending the summers with her _abuela_ , they were probably a month old when she saw them jumping clumsily around their mothers and always staying close to her. However, the pained expression on her mother’s face quickly brought her back to reality and not even a full moment later she felt something hot and sticky drip on her hands, and when she moved her eyes down Maryse’s face and neck she saw the sharp tip of a blade retrieve back and leave a bloody hole in her throat.

They got distracted and didn’t see the demon standing behind her mother, licking the dark red blood from the sword and smiling excitedly.

“Mom! _Mama!_ No, no, no!” – Isabelle screamed as Maryse’s limp body fell in her arms and her eyes closed.

“ _Lyft sy þe in bǽlwylm ac forhienan se wiðere!”_ – Ehuang yelled and thin black lines spread all over her skin as if she had just been hit by lightning.

Suddenly all the demon towers around Alicante illuminated in bright, sharp light, spreading it among every nook and cranny of the city, bathing in its glow everything on its path and turning all the demons to ashes. Even the one standing in front of Izzy with her mother’s blood still hot on his teeth, even he was reduced to nothing but a pile of dust, and Isabelle, just like everyone else, had to close her eyes so that she wouldn’t go blind.

Just as the light was returning to the towers and the remaining Shadowhunters and downworlders were beginning to open their eyes, a deafening scream could be heard approaching them.

“Jonathan! You’ll pay for that!” – Valentine shouted as he and the three horsemen kept striding toward them.

“I thought we made it.” – Jonathan said slowly but when nothing followed his comment, he turned his head to search for Ehuang, finding her body splayed on the ground, her chest unmoving and her entire face and arms covered in black lines. He was feeling weak, the blood drained from him felt like it had taken away most of his life force, he’d probably need weeks to recover but there were no black veins spreading on him as they had on Ehuang’s body.

“The towers only banished the demons that were summoned from hell and the people that had been turned into demons. They cannot touch the horsemen because they are not mere demons, they are even more powerful than the angels and archangels, why do you think we’re fighting this war on our own?” – Magnus began talking as he limped back to where he and the now sobbing Izzy were standing, some twenty feet away from Jonathan.

“I’m so sorry biscuit.” – He said and pulled the girl for a quick hug. They’d have time to mourn but first, the fight was still far from over.

“I’m going to personally rip Valentine’s heart out of his chest.” – Izzy said and saw Clary sprinting to her.

“Izzy! What happened? I felt…” – The redhead was just about to say that she hadn’t felt that anger, rage, and desperation since her mother’s death but then she looked at the crops lying on the ground, near Izzy.

“Oh, Iz…” – Clary didn’t say anything else, she just pulled her _parabatai_ in for a hug.

“What happens now? Did we win?” – Jonathan asked not seeing Valentine or the horsemen anywhere around them but the skies were still looking angry and black.

“And what do you know of winning?” – A voice behind him asked and the moment he turned around, Valentine drove his own sword into his chest and kicked Magnus so hard that he flew in the air and crashed against one of the nearest buildings, bringing it down on him in the process. Alec screamed somewhere behind them but she couldn’t understand the words he was saying, her own screams deafening all other sounds around her. 

“Jonathan!!” – Clary yelled desperately. There was no way to get to him because Valentine was blocking their way and her brother laid curled on his side, coughing blood and gasping hopelessly for air, his black and blue eyes filled with pain and love were glued to Clary, making his last moments worth every second of torture when he saw her cry for him as his eyes began closing forever. At this moment, there was no more fighting for him, no more screaming, threatening or pain, at this moment he knew that his sister would mourn his death, his sister loved him… perhaps in another life he would get the chance and tell her how much he loved her too.

A moment passed and Clary and Izzy found themselves fighting Valentine, trying their best to avoid his blows but the sword in Clary’s hand still refused to erupt in flames and the redhead was running out of time to figure out how to kill her father. Izzy’s rage was bubbling hot in her, keeping her on her toes but it also made her reckless, Valentine managed to land a hit on her cheek that left her with a split lip.

When she looked across the gardens, the three horsemen were fighting the last of their group, a couple of Shadohunters and seelies were trying to bring Famine down his horse, Jace, Alec, and Simon were dealing with War and the last four of the remaining witches had united against Pestilence. Her brothers still fought like the first time after their ceremony, always protecting each other’s back and when the sword was knocked out of Jace's hand, Alec threw him his without a second thought.

The horsemen were weaker now that Daniel was dead but their anchor was still here and that meant that they were still a thread, the demon towers had stopped more demons from penetrating the city limits but if Alicante were to fall, hundreds and hundreds of legions summoned from the depths of hell would walk the mundane world and kill at sight.

Valentine managed to avoid almost all attacks the girls threw at him, but he was starting to tire, it was no easy feat being the anchor to three mythical creatures that were created to bestow chaos. Punching Clary’s nose, Valentine used the moment to jab at her kidneys sending her crashing on the floor with teary eyes. Izzy tried to kick him with her left foot but he stepped closer to her and the force of the kick was lost, however, Valentine bashed his fist directly between her stomach and chest, punching her diaphragm so hard that Izzy felt all the air rush outside of her now spasming lungs, making breathing almost an impossible task.

“You chose this.” – Valentine said and grabbed Izzy by the throat and Clary was writhing on the ground, cuts, and scrapes, and bruises littered her body. The pain from her kidneys spread to her spine and even though she tried standing up, she only managed to stumble forward and down to the ground again.

The moment Valentine’s blade pierced her skin and embedded itself in her flesh, sinking up to the hilt, Isabelle felt a strange sense of déjà vu wash over her, as if she had been exactly in the place she was supposed to be and she knew what the result of this would be. And yet she felt calm, at peace, knowing that she gave up her life for love, for protecting one of the people she swore she would. A string of thoughts ran in her mind as she tried to take another gulp of air to fill her bleeding lungs:

_“Ah but we were warned… they warned us but we didn’t listen, now I know why the price is too high indeed…_

_… and yet I’d do it all over again, I’d fight all over again for her… for us…_

And then Clary’s voice pierced the atmosphere like a machete parting a coconut in half in one clean cut.

“NOOOO!” – Clary’s wail sounded across the entire square and even throughout the gardens and a loud explosion threw Valentine across the water fountain.

War is a vociferous affair, all the screams and shouts, and bloody gurgles… the screeching, the incessant clopping of hooves… the continuous clash of metal against metal and bone… war was indeed cacophonous and yet somehow the loudest sound was the one the sharp intake of breath Isabelle managed to take as Valentine’s blade buried itself into her torso. The sword buried all the way up to the hilt right between the ribs where the sternum ended left Izzy’s unmoving body perched forward.

“Izzy! No!” – Clary screamed again and didn’t even notice her own body lifting up from the ground and running the small distance towards Izzy’s unmoving body. Alec’s screams in the distance were almost as loud as Clary’s, he had been so focused on fighting War, get all his ire out on the horseman, the rage that he felt when he saw the building crumble on top of Magnus… he wanted to run to Valentine and kill him himself but Jace and Simon couldn’t fight War alone. He prayed that his sister was simply wounded and not dead, there was too much death already.

“Izzy, hey, Iz! Come on, open your eyes beautiful.” – The redhead talked as she dropped on her knees and took as gently as she could her parabatai’s head in her hands. Izzy’s eyes were still open but they were losing its spark quickly, her breathing was labored and the blood kept oozing out of her abdomen.

“Hold on, please. Please Isabelle, just hold on!” – Clary’s tears were streaming freely down her cheeks and neck, drawing clear lines where grime, mud, and demon blood had been resting on her face.

Trying to put pressure into the wound Clary only managed to make her hands bloody and sticky, suddenly the raw, heavy smell of iron assaulted Clary’s senses but her eyes were glued to Izzy’s. There was a sharp pain Clary could feel in her own abdomen but the ire and fury, and rage she felt kept her mind distracted.

“Izzy…” – Clary mumbled but she felt Isabelle’s words sound inside her own mind. It was weak, unlike the other times they communicated like that, her voice now was strained and strained…

_“I love you, Clary Fray.”_

And just before Clary could say anything in return Isabelle’s eyes closed and her chest stopped moving… She was gone…

Clary’s eyes flashed with all the emotions she felt, it was like liquid fire ran through her veins now and she slowly touched Izzy’s forehead with hers, inhaling one last time that signature scent of pomelo and neroli. Gently letting Izzy’s body lying on the ground, Clary slowly got up on her feet once more.

“You’ll wish you never returned!” – She grumbled between gritted teeth as she started walking toward Valentine who was still trying to regain his balance.

“You forced my hand, Clarissa. You didn’t have to lose your _parabatai_ today.” – Valentine said trying to sound calm and confident but the fire in his daughter’s eyes made him doubt for a second his choice in killing the Lightwood girl. Oh, how much he had underestimated his mistake…

Picking up the sword in her right hand, Clary felt the rune on her palm burn but she didn’t pay attention to it as her mind was only focused on killing the man that took away the life of her _parabatai_ and soulmate. The flames that enveloped the blade were burning with the same fury that raged inside Clary and she lost herself in the sensation.

Moving with flaming Glorious in her hands was different, time seemed to blur, she was not conscious of the way her blade wheezed through the air and crackled each time it found Valentine’s. Clary could still see Isabelle’s blood coating her father’s sword and her stomach turned and twisted as she avoided the blows until suddenly the ground under his feet turned into quicksand and he sank to his knees.

“What?” – He gasped confused but Clary swiftly kicked the sword out of his hand, sending it sliding until it hit the fountain near them.

“Clarissa! Listen to me!” – Valentine pleaded as Clary’s blade slashed his skin, all the way from the shoulder across the torso and down to his hip bone, black blood was oozing out of him and the thing that Clary didn’t see was that as soon as the drops hissed on the sand around his knees the three horsemen stood frozen amidst their attack.

“Go to hell.” – Clary said and with one nimble sway of Glorious, Valentine’s head rolled off his body, his empty eyes wide open, the dark pupils reflecting Clary’s form standing still in front of his corpse.

A series of loud neighs and nickers came from the horses before they along with their riders dissipated into thin air, leaving no trace of them behind, except the destruction they had brought, even the skies above them softened and turned greyish white rather than the angry black from this morning. There were no more thunder and lightning either. It was suddenly too quiet.

Magnus was standing beside Alec now, Jace was helping Meliorn to get on his feet, Simon and another group of four Shadowhunters were looking around them, hardly believing that they were still standing there, alive.

Jace moved to where Magnus was holding a sobbing Alec and joined the hug as well, he heard Clary’s heartrending yell and then Alec’s and he knew what had happened even without seeing for himself. There was only one reason for both these people to scream like that and he felt the pain his _parabatai_ felt as he saw his little sister’s body hit the ground. They were all covered in scars but Meliorn had gotten the worst out of the battle, his face was like a canvas of gashes and cuts, his hair was marred thick with his own blood and he was leaning heavily on his left side but he was alive, he was still breathing.

If the silence before the battle was overwhelming then the one that followed it was absolutely devastating, only a handful had survived out of sixty of the best Shadowhunters, werewolves, seelies, and vampires. 

Clary took one step toward Isabelle’s body, two, three and she could feel the strain on her own body, the nauseating feeling returned to her stomach again, her heart thumped heavy with grief, she felt all emotions drain from her. She wanted to be angry, to cry, to curse and to scream but she could barely keep standing on her feet… out of nowhere a bright, white light appeared causing everyone to close their eyes for a moment and then they saw a silhouette materialize a couple of steps from Clary. A tall, honey blonde man with bright green eyes and long face, his sharp features catching Clary’s attention, he seemed familiar but she needed a moment to place his face…

“You… you’re Michael! You’re archangel Michael and you’re appearing just _now_?!” – She gasped as she remembered the tapestry from outside sister Afia’s chambers. The Universe seemed to have quite the perverse sense of humor if the angels were coming to their aid now. Turning around to see why the rest of the survivors had suddenly gone so quiet, she saw all of them frozen in time, or rather time itself had stopped for everyone but her.

“You must be the one that woke up the sword after so long? I see Glorious has made an interesting choice this time, your hands are not free of blood.” – The angel commented judging and reaching for the sword but Clary took a step back. Perhaps there was a reason Glorious was still in her hands, Michael had created the blade only to be used when needed and then disappear until needed again, perhaps its task was not yet finished…

“Why now? We fought a war that _you_ were supposed to fight and instead you decided to cower away! I fought for the people I love, I wanted to protect my family! And I lost everything, I have nothing to fight for anymore, so go find another to win your wars, I’m done offering the people I love in exchange for winning a war I never wanted to be a part of. I can’t keep sacrificing, I’m not a saint!” – Clary spat angrily at the angel before her as if he couldn’t obliterate her entire existence in one swift motion. She felt the previous anger return to her but nothing else, no love, no compassion, there was still a hole in her only now it was halfway filled with pure ire.

“Haven’t your people understood it yet?” – The angel asked mirthfully. 

“Saints are your own invention; a paradigm never achieved in fact, everyone born on earth makes mistakes and every single person fights to keep their loved ones safe. Love is the reason you live, fight, breathe, and ironically enough, the greatest reason you kill for too. There are no saints left because none were ever made to exist.” – Michael added.

“As I said, I have no reason left to live so you have to find someone else to fight the next one for you.” – Clary barely managed to say before sadness overtook her once again and she realized why there was this deep shallow feeling inside her… Izzy was gone, her _parabatai_ was dead.

“You may not be a saint, Clary Fray but you are special, and… you are right. You led a war that was not your place to lead but heaven grew too confident over the centuries and you paid the price.” – Michael said, their face void of any emotion but their voice was filled with regret.

“Get out of my sight… Just leave me be. I don’t wish to see any of you ever again.” – Clary said and turned her back on them, moving to where Isabelle’s body was resting.

Getting gently on her knees, Clary pulled the unmoving corps to her and held her for a moment in her arms… she had to bury Izzy and then… then she’ll probably go somewhere, away from all this and live out the rest of her days pretending to be a normal mundane... wishing without success she could forget the past. The overwhelming grief she was feeling was like a wolf stalking its wounded, bleeding prey, trailing so close behind them they could feel its breathing on the back of their neck… it wouldn’t take long for the wolf to finally finish the job just like it wouldn’t take long for Clary’s grief to consume her completely.

“You may not want to have anything to do with the Shadow world anymore, Clarissa, but you are the hero we all needed.” – Michael said and then silently moved to the spot where Clary was kneeling.

“And what does that title bring me?” – Clary asked, her anger rising once more. She thought of Luke and Simon, and everyone else that died that day.

“Would it bring back my friends? My _family_?” – Now, Clary could feel her knuckles tighten around the handle of her own blade, memories of Jonathan and Isabelle swirling in her mind.

“Even the angels cannot bring back the dead.” – The angel said with his head down.

“I’m starting to wonder what _can_ you do?” – Clary asked and before Michael could answer another angel appeared next to him. This time it was a woman, tall with deep brown eyes and rich chocolate skin, she reminded her of sister Afia, the angel in front of her could easily pass as her younger sister.

“Great, now you _all_ decided to show up? Seriously?!” – Clary was annoyed, where were they when the battle was brewing?

“Who are you?” – The redhead asked but the woman in front of her still wouldn’t talk and when she turned to ask Michael for an explanation, she found them kneeling, bowing their head to the woman standing there and clearly not willing to provide an explanation either. The unknown woman was dressed similarly to Michael but she had no armor on her, just a delicate white dress with gold threads all over it.

“What…” – Clary began talking but the woman put her hand up to stop her. Her face was soft but emotionless, only her eyes looked at her filled with compassion and Clary couldn’t stand that look being directed at her. She didn’t need their help to defeat the literal armies from hell, she sure didn’t want their compassion now. 

Moving her hand, the angel gestured to where Clary’s stele was still securely strapped on her hips and the Shadowhunter handed it to her. Taking the girl’s hand in one of hers, Clary couldn’t help but wince at the icy coldness of the hand supporting hers until the hot sting of the stele brought her back to the moment. Watching the angel draw a rune on her palm, a rune no one had ever seen before.

The angels were not supposed to interfere in earthly affairs but there wouldn’t even _be_ an earth to interfere if the Nephilim hadn’t stopped Valentine. Moving slowly to kneel on the other side of Isabelle’s body, the new angel took Clary’s hand and put it over the wound on Izzy’s stomach then put her own hand over her forehead and began praying. Clary assumed it was a prayer at least, she had never heard such a language before, with barely any vowels it sounded like stones rolling and grinding over each other but then she felt a small movement under her hand, a barely perceptible flutter, and saw Izzy’s stomach expand slowly, inhaling slowly with barely detectable movement. Isabelle was breathing, Clary quickly put her other hand over her chest and felt her heart beating once again. Faintly but steadily. She was breathing! Hot tears began streaming down Clary’s face once more and the hole inside her was suddenly overflowing with feelings, the one that encapsulated all else and was the easiest to distinguish was hope.

“She will live.” – Was the only thing the woman said before she stood up and disappeared into thin air just like the horsemen had before.

“Wait! No! Her wounds aren’t healing!” – Clary cried out. Surely if an angel brought you back from the dead, you’d expect your wounds to be healed instantly right?

“She will be alright.” – Said the emotionless voice of Michael, as if they had just announced the forecast for tomorrow.

“You don´t know that!” – Clary spat angrily at them.

“I swear, if this is some kind of a cruel joke and Isabelle doesn´t make it…” – The redhead gritted her teeth, she couldn’t even finish the sentence as another gust of pain washed over her at the thought of losing Izzy.

Michael didn’t show any emotion but he extended his hand to Clary´s shoulder and as soon as their fingers connected to her skin Clary gasped audibly as if all the air from her lungs was knocked out again barely registering the group of survivors talking behind her again, faintly acknowledging the flow of time again.

“She will… you both will…” – Were his last words before blinding light enveloped her…

Blinding light enveloped her, Clary could feel herself getting more and more relaxed as the familiar scent of neroli and pomelo floated around her. She was almost sure that she hadn’t moved from her place but suddenly Isabelle was gone from her arms and was standing a couple of steps away from her… although she was certainly not alone and definitely not amid the ruins of Alicante.

"Hello my little love!" - Izzy said as she scooped the toddler in her arms from the ground where she was eating or eat least trying to eat some type of a very crumbly cookie. The small strands of fiery red hair of the child made her glow under the sunlight and her giggles filled the air as Izzy hummed a familiar melody and twirled with her around the kitchen isle.

"Yes, you are the prettiest little girl I've ever seen!" - Isabelle said as she kept tickling the child's tummy.

"What about me, mommy?" - Another voice sounded from beside Clary and it was just now that she saw another little girl gripping her hand, it was in this exact moment that she noticed the warmth of her small fingers wrapped around her hand. The child was not older than three or four but her jet-black hair and green eyes made her look so familiar to Clary as if she´d known her all her life. Everything around her looked brighter, the colors were sharper and it was almost like she was dreaming.

"You are the prettiest big girl I've ever seen my darling." - Izzy said and made the little girl giggle as well and run to her and the toddler, all three of them then went through the door of the kitchen and right into the back garden of the house. Now Clary could see it better, Izzy stood in the same back yard that had been riddled with roses two days ago in Alicante, now though Isabelle was surrounded by luscious green grass and small wildflowers, dancing and laughing with the two small children before she turned to Clary and waved at her to join them. She could almost feel the warm sun rays coming from above on her own skin. The city was rebuilt, renewed and it was standing even more proudly than before. They had done it, they had managed to get over the destruction that almost ending the world had brought upon them and they had continued living it seemed.

"I'm so glad I listened to you and we got away from the Institute." - Isabelle said as she put the toddler in her arms to sit on the ground and play with her sister.

Clary couldn't help it, even if she had no idea how she got here and even where or _when_ here was she put her hands around Izzy's hips and stood there mesmerized by the smile on her lips, completely missing the faint scar line that ran from the middle of Izzy´s eyebrow up to the side of her forehead.

"Alec, Magnus, and the kids will be here any minute but…” – Izzy interrupted her thought with a small kiss on Clary´s lips.

“Tonight, after we put our beautiful daughters to bed, I'll show you just how glad I am of your great idea to come here for a couple of days.” - Izzy said quietly, only loud enough for Clary to hear and feel the tips of her ears getting hot. Isabelle leaned forward and kissed her slowly, Clary pulled their bodies even closer if that was possible and got lost in the sensation of Izzy's lips on hers, she'd never tire of the emotions such simple actions woke up in her.

Just as Clary deepened the kiss, the children around them squeaked in delight as they saw two slightly older boys running to them, making Clary and Izzy quickly jump apart and turning to see where their girls were practically sprinting to, as much as a three-ish year old and a toddler could run of course, until the youngest intertwined her little legs and fell on the grass. Most children would cry when they fall but not her, she only accepted her sister's hand and giggled before running off again to meet the boys.

"I swear Emlen looks more and more like you every day, she's even getting your clumsy gene apparently. Thank the Angel our daughters are Nephilim or I´m sure they´d be permanently covered in scratches and bruises." - Izzy teased her as they stood hugging each other, she could hear Magnus and Alec's steps approaching from the side of the mansion but didn't want to let go of her wife just yet.

"Hey!" - Clary protested with a feigning offense.

"I love you, _mi amor,_ but you know that's true, every time I leave you with Iraia and you "teach" her to paint, there's more paint on her than on your canvases." - Izzy teased her again and gave her a quick peck on the lips but just before Clary could answer, they heard Alec shouting as he and Magnus were getting closer. _Iraia… Iraia… Clary knew that name…_ it was then that she remembered Pythia’s remark about Iraia and her fire… but how did the Oracle know about her daughter? Did that mean that their paths will cross again? But before worry could overflood Clary’s mind completely, Isabelle’s words snapped her out of her thoughts.

“I love you.” – Izzy whispered and pulled Clary closer to her lips.

“I love you too, Iz.” – The redhead managed to say before she let herself get lost in the sensation. Whatever the future had prepared for them, Clary was somehow certain they’ll be okay.

"Hey, Frey! Stop making out with my sister in front of the kids!" – Alec’s voice teased and he shook his head with a smug grin on his face. He and Clary still enjoyed teasing each other just as much as before.

"It wasn't even me that started it! Besides, I've been Frey - Lightwood for a while now, I've begun enjoying breaking the rules!" - Clary said back with a playful wink, for a moment she had no doubt Izzy and her were married and even touched the ring on her finger before suddenly everything around her faded away again and she was back holding a wounded Izzy in her arms, the girl was still unconscious but the new rune drawn on her upper stomach shined with pulsing light.

It would take time… for that ring to actually appear on her finger, for Alicante to be rebuilt, for the new generation of Shadohunters to have a chance to do better than them… and for Isabelle to recover fully, but she was so brave and brilliant, and gentle and… well… no words could fully do her justice.

Isabelle was Isabelle and Clary was grateful she existed, making the world a little fiercer with every one of her smiles and making Clary’s heart jump each time she said her name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What a rollercoaster ride huh? The original idea wasn't that serious but the most important thing is that it has a happy (I think it classifies as happy) ending.
> 
> The "spells" I've used in this work are NOT mine, I copied them from BBC's Merlin.  
> Also, the last sentence in this story was taken directly from the books.  
> I've used the characters' dates of birth from the books as well but the characters' physical appearance is taken from the TV show.
> 
> Do you have questions about the story? Would you like to read how Pythia knows Iraia? Let me know what you guys think :)


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